DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Sells 50,835 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale reduced its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 73,559 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,835 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned about 0.06% of Clorox worth $10,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Clorox by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 20,232 shares of the company's stock worth $2,885,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 17,658.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company's stock worth $69,078,000 after acquiring an additional 481,725 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,081 shares of the company's stock worth $4,860,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tsfg LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 920 shares of the company's stock worth $131,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Trading Up 0.2 %

CLX traded up $0.34 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $144.36. 1,014,482 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,640. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $114.68 and a 1 year high of $178.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is presently 761.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $165.00 price target (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Clorox in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "sell" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.13.

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.