Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Buys 38,043 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 158.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,003 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 38,043 shares during the quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Clorox worth $10,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in Clorox by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on Clorox and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.23.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX opened at $134.79 on Monday. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.03. The company has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 87.61%.

About Clorox

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.