Sone Capital Management LLC Takes $10.25 Million Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 63,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,248,000. Clorox accounts for 1.3% of Sone Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Sone Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Clorox at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CLX. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $806,000. Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $4,567,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,459,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $16,040,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $130.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,709,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,331,355. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.77, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $140.26 and a 200-day moving average of $152.82. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is 87.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

About Clorox

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.