Stevens Capital Management LP Increases Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Stevens Capital Management LP increased its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,993 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Clorox were worth $813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Insight Folios Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.0% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.2% during the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 17.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $167.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.74 billion, a PE ratio of 58.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.35.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

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.