Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 120 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,674 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Clorox by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its position in Clorox by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 6,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Clorox by 4.5% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Clorox by 2.7% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Clorox by 9.9% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE CLX opened at $150.77 on Wednesday. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $156.48 and a 200-day moving average of $160.48. The firm has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 41.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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 business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Clorox has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.62.

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.