The Clorox Company $CLX Shares Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 31.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,382 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Clorox were worth $763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CLX. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in Clorox by 69.5% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Clorox during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 239.1% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 289.5% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 370 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total transaction of $1,861,774.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 54,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $130.20.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX opened at $112.64 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The company has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $110.61 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.82.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.07%.

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.