The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stock Position Trimmed by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp cut its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 50.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,855 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Clorox by 100.2% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 56,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,048,000 after purchasing an additional 28,245 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 522.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 35,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 29,740 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its position in shares of Clorox by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 198,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,268,000 after buying an additional 33,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on CLX. 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 target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.63.

Clorox Stock Performance

Clorox stock opened at $145.19 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.09. The company has a market cap of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 230.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week high of $178.21.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 761.92%.

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.