Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Grows Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,743 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the first quarter worth $63,000. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,963,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the first quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 4.2% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.14.

Clorox Stock Down 0.6 %

CLX traded down $1.00 during trading on Monday, hitting $160.96. 319,916 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,226,157. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.92, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-month high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. Analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 252.85%.

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.