Northern Trust Corp Has $242.68 Million Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,494,265 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 230,173 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.21% of Clorox worth $242,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,507,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,518,517,000 after buying an additional 124,428 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Clorox by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,098,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,925,000 after acquiring an additional 69,969 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock worth $380,761,000 after acquiring an additional 9,582 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $259,041,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,163,000 after purchasing an additional 585,526 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CLX. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Clorox from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $153.83.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock opened at $138.52 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The business's 50-day moving average price is $144.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.13.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Clorox's payout ratio is 133.33%.

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.

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