The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stake Boosted by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 158.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,003 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,043 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Clorox worth $10,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $151.23.

Clorox Stock Performance

Clorox stock traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $134.99. 1,566,890 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,760. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.64. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The firm has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, 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.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.