Mechanics Bank Trust Department Sells 160 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Clorox were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kelly Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased 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 purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co raised its stake in Clorox by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 14,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $157.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.54.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $160.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $164.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.54. The firm has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.42. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.04%.

Clorox Company 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.