Vista Investment Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Vista Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 16.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,527 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CLX. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 1,525.7% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,046,000 after acquiring an additional 61,576 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 93.7% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 72,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,032,000 after purchasing an additional 34,864 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Clorox by 15.2% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 141,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,705,000 after buying an additional 18,687 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Clorox by 257.5% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,719,000 after buying an additional 8,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,025,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.14.

Clorox Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE CLX opened at $162.61 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.10. The stock has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.25, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $169.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. Equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 252.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.