Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $3.78 Million Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 52.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,274 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,034 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 46,877.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,095,000 after acquiring an additional 4,490,421 shares during the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 512.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,315,000 after purchasing an additional 453,624 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Clorox by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,816,000 after purchasing an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,390,000 after purchasing an additional 265,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Clorox by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,947,000 after purchasing an additional 245,525 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $146.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $154.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.23. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.62.

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.