M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 696 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $4,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

Clorox Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $151.11 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $155.65 and its 200 day moving average is $160.34. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

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.