Diversified LLC Makes New $237,000 Investment in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Diversified LLC acquired a new stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 46,877.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,035,000 after buying an additional 960,094 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,492,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,372,000 after acquiring an additional 31,510 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Clorox by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,200,000 after acquiring an additional 120,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Clorox by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 802,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,483,000 after acquiring an additional 85,529 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.00.

Insider Activity at Clorox

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

Clorox Stock Down 1.8 %

CLX stock opened at $166.32 on Tuesday. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.35. The stock has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $162.79 and its 200 day moving average is $148.71.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.