PFG Investments LLC Acquires 587 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 17.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,926 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $601,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter worth $199,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 15.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 15.5% during the first quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in Clorox by 5.8% during the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 31,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Clorox by 0.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 326,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,987,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:CLX traded up $2.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $148.92. 1,659,853 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,210,226. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-month high of $178.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 236.38, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $149.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.95.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 761.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $148.63.

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.