The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 430,910 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,513 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.35% of Clorox worth $69,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at about $714,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,250 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Clorox by 12.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,913 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,873,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 10.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,840,000 after purchasing an additional 12,776 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $153.83.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock traded up $0.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $138.28. 825,138 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,394. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $145.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. Clorox's payout ratio is 133.33%.

Clorox 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.