Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 51,971 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 386,674 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,971 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Clorox were worth $62,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Clorox by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $139.60 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The company has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $146.57 and its 200 day moving average is $156.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Clorox from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $153.83.

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.