California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 15,245 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 755,650 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,245 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.61% of Clorox worth $107,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 64.5% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 255 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 256 shares of the company's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 458.3% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 268 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CLX stock traded up $1.82 on Wednesday, reaching $147.79. 1,101,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,205,563. The company has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 234.68, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.68 and a 200-day moving average of $142.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The business's revenue 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Clorox's payout ratio is 761.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "sell" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $148.63.

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.