Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,341,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,622,000 after acquiring an additional 44,344 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.1% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,463,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,427,000 after buying an additional 195,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 3.8% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,725,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,349,000 after buying an additional 100,920 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,415,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,517,000 after buying an additional 357,964 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Clorox by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,184,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,356,000 after acquiring an additional 47,879 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $140.53 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a PE ratio of 223.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.43. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $178.21.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 761.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $165.00 price target (down from $170.00) on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $162.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.