Mechanics Bank Trust Department Reduces Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Clorox were worth $625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth $54,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 8.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,121,000 after purchasing an additional 22,676 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 5.6% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 191,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,149 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Clorox by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 23,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Clorox by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 353,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,228,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $160.31 on Monday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $164.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.54. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of 55.86, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $157.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.54.

Clorox Profile

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.