Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Reduces Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC trimmed its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,341,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,622,000 after buying an additional 44,344 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 17.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,415,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,517,000 after purchasing an additional 357,964 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Clorox by 2.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,184,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,356,000 after purchasing an additional 47,879 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Clorox by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,738,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,904,000 after purchasing an additional 30,902 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,633,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,103,000 after buying an additional 42,352 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Clorox from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.43.

Clorox Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE CLX traded down $2.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $131.65. 608,936 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,252,601. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.88. The company has a market cap of $16.35 billion, a PE ratio of 69.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.44. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $114.68 and a twelve month high of $169.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. Clorox had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 302.49%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th were given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 248.71%.

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.