Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Decreases Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management cut its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Clorox were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management boosted its stake in Clorox by 64.5% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 57.1% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 458.3% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $141.56 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.74 and its 200 day moving average is $143.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73. The firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.35, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.44. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $170.43.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 302.49% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 248.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Clorox from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Clorox from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.43.

Clorox Company 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.