Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 11,047 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,903 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,047 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Clorox worth $13,675,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,794,000. Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 224.2% during the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,579 shares of the company's stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 4,550 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 23,596 shares of the company's stock worth $3,365,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $826,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Clorox by 100.2% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 56,440 shares of the company's stock worth $8,048,000 after buying an additional 28,245 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CLX stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $145.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,443,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,206,888. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $149.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37. The company has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 230.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.43. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year high of $178.21.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 761.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CLX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $148.63.

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.