Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 59,923 Shares of The Clorox Company $CLX

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 24.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 304,147 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,923 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $37,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Clorox by 9.0% in the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 335,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,285,000 after purchasing an additional 27,639 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,568,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,297,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,922,000 after buying an additional 136,135 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 64.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 25,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,173,000 after acquiring an additional 10,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on Clorox from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Clorox from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Clorox from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $110.00 to $94.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $118.73.

Clorox Trading Up 0.9%

Clorox stock opened at $114.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $114.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.54. The company has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.59. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $96.66 and a 52 week high of $153.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.03.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.04). Clorox had a return on equity of 383.01% and a net margin of 11.17%.The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.55 EPS. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.05%.

Clorox Company 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.