Plato Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 630.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,482 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Clorox were worth $227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,205,000. LBP AM SA lifted its stake in Clorox by 67.7% in the first quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 25,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,936,000 after purchasing an additional 10,376 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 10.5% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 39,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,031,000 after buying an additional 3,740 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 327.6% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,906,000 after buying an additional 19,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.4% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 204,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,376,000 after buying an additional 2,888 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of CLX traded up $2.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $134.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,626,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,933. The stock has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 69.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.39. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-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. The company’s 50 day moving average is $133.60 and its 200 day moving average is $142.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 248.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $132.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $162.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Clorox from $158.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Clorox from $164.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.13.

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.