Aviva PLC Sells 112,685 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Aviva PLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 60.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112,685 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.06% of Clorox worth $12,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in Clorox by 300.0% during the 3rd 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. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Clorox from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.00.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $138.62 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $149.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.20. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Clorox Company 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.