Cerity Partners LLC Buys 3,594 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,048 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,594 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Clorox were worth $9,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CLX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $259,041,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company's stock worth $221,163,000 after acquiring an additional 585,526 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 187.9% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,508,000 after acquiring an additional 456,114 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Clorox by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company's stock worth $165,816,000 after purchasing an additional 308,234 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Clorox by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,390,000 after purchasing an additional 265,455 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $154.25.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.29. 154,859 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,451,858. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.93.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

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.