Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Buys 20,766 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 35.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,857 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,766 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.06% of Clorox worth $12,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $259,041,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 585,526 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Clorox by 549.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 542,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,144,000 after purchasing an additional 459,203 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Clorox by 187.9% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company's stock worth $113,508,000 after purchasing an additional 456,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,421,909 shares of the company's stock worth $230,932,000 after purchasing an additional 316,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of CLX stock traded up $1.58 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $134.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,566,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,760. The company has a market cap of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $153.64.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. Clorox's revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.