Raymond James Trust N.A. Lowers Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Raymond James Trust N.A. reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 20.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,260 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,342 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Clorox by 257.5% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 8,087 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Clorox by 32.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 267,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,524,000 after acquiring an additional 66,149 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $876,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Clorox by 140.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 74,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,335,000 after acquiring an additional 43,265 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on CLX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Five 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.00.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $169.30 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.54. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.35.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.04%.

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.