Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 259.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,410 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,844 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Clorox were worth $2,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 3,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CLX. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $151.23.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $135.53. 1,678,112 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,325,369. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.03, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The stock's 50-day moving average is $140.80 and its 200 day moving average is $153.09.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.61%.

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.