The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 464 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Clorox by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,947,000 after buying an additional 245,525 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 46,877.8% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,095,000 after acquiring an additional 4,490,421 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,028,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,713,000 after acquiring an additional 33,970 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Clorox by 1.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,334,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,370,000 after purchasing an additional 37,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Clorox by 2.2% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,492,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,372,000 after buying an additional 31,510 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. 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 restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.21.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $154.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $157.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.05.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

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.