Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 38.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,897 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Clorox by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 76,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,408,000 after purchasing an additional 11,606 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Clorox by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Clorox by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 74,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth $605,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Down 0.6%

Clorox stock opened at $126.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.51. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $117.35 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $126.34 and a 200-day moving average of $139.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Clorox and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Three 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.83.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.