Kerusso Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Kerusso Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 17,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,438,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CLX. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 41,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,985,000 after acquiring an additional 8,197 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 678,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,794,000 after buying an additional 15,187 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 2,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $164.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $166.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $142.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.85.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upgraded Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Clorox in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.50.

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.