Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,049 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Clorox were worth $8,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 239.1% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 140.7% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 361 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Clorox Trading Down 1.1%

CLX opened at $121.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $117.35 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $124.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.90.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

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.

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