Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Sells 2,459 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group cut its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 24.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,503 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,459 shares during the period. Clorox comprises approximately 0.7% of Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth about $225,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Clorox by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,641,000 after buying an additional 9,720 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 356.1% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 5,829 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 307,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,119,000 after purchasing an additional 6,008 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.62.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $147.43 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $154.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.32. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The firm has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a PE ratio of 40.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

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.