Qsemble Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 5,610 The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $914,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Insight Folios Inc grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.0% in the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Clorox by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 17.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $167.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.88. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 58.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CLX. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

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.