Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Reduces Position in The Clorox Company $CLX

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lessened its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 15.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,231 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,005 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. American National Bank & Trust lifted its position in Clorox by 69.5% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 239.1% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 289.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 370 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on CLX. Zacks Research cut Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $128.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Clorox from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $130.20.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total transaction of $1,861,774.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 54,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Up 0.2%

Clorox stock opened at $112.64 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $110.61 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $120.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.82.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

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.