Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 12,776 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 135,225 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,776 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.11% of Clorox worth $21,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CLX. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,873,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Clorox by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 22,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,864 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Clorox by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at about $714,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $164.13 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $164.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.48. The company has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.19, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.38.

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.