Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 522 shares during the quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Clorox by 3.1% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $742,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the third quarter worth about $231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $169.14 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 58.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $169.21.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

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.