Commerce Bank Sells 595 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 595 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Clorox were worth $4,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $733,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Clorox by 1,715.5% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,411,000 after buying an additional 1,380,724 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 150.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 13,547.0% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 440,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,063,000 after acquiring an additional 436,891 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 424.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,390,000 after acquiring an additional 435,971 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Up 0.1 %

Clorox stock opened at $169.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $162.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.43. The company has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.35.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value 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. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

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.