Cetera Investment Advisers Reduces Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Cetera Investment Advisers lessened its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,454 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Clorox were worth $9,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Clorox by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 6,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Down 2.2%

NYSE:CLX opened at $134.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $142.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on CLX. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three 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, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.23.

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.