Verity Asset Management Inc. Has $523,000 Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company $CLX

Verity Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 40.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,977 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $612,000. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Clorox by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 33,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,028,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Clorox by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,773,000 after buying an additional 5,006 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden boosted its position in Clorox by 70.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 16,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,981,000 after buying an additional 6,832 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,545 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $112.64 on Monday. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $110.61 and a 1 year high of $171.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.82.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $130.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total value of $1,861,774.98. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is currently 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.