Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 11,919 Shares of The Clorox Company $CLX

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 12.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,794 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,919 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Clorox were worth $10,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 4.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Clorox by 253.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 10,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,465 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 317,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,147,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 566.9% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,880 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore dropped their price objective on Clorox from $132.00 to $115.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $114.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $117.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $118.73.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3%

CLX opened at $127.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.03. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $96.66 and a 1-year high of $158.91. The company has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $112.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.62.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 383.01%. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.05%.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company’s flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox’s diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.