Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 38.3%, now holding 6,285 shares worth approximately $925,000.
• The Clorox Company reported an EPS of $1.45 for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $1.57, and a revenue decline of 8.0% year-over-year.
• Clorox has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, which increases the annualized dividend to $4.96, yielding 3.93%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 38.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,897 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Clorox were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 76,400 shares of the company's stock worth $12,408,000 after acquiring an additional 11,606 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Clorox by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 74,605 shares of the company's stock worth $12,117,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at about $605,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,372,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded down $2.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.06. 3,928,421 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,666,065. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $117.35 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $126.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 538.72% and a net margin of 11.40%. Clorox's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group cut their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price target on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Clorox Company Profile

The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States.