Graham Capital Management L.P. Buys New Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,893,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.23.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of Clorox stock traded up $1.32 on Friday, hitting $136.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,182,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,320,934. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.35. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.61%.

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.