17,596 Shares in The Clorox Company $CLX Acquired by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,170,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 9.0% during the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 335,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,285,000 after purchasing an additional 27,639 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Clorox in the second quarter valued at about $8,568,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 11.7% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,297,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,922,000 after buying an additional 136,135 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Clorox during the second quarter worth about $328,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 64.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 25,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,173,000 after buying an additional 10,065 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Clorox from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $110.00 to $94.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $118.73.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $115.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.03, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.07 and its 200-day moving average is $113.46. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $96.66 and a one year high of $150.84.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 383.01% and a net margin of 11.17%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 81.05%.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company’s flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox’s diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.