HM Payson & Co. Sells 487 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

HM Payson & Co. decreased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 19.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 487 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 1,715.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,411,000 after buying an additional 1,380,724 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 150.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 13,547.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 440,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,063,000 after purchasing an additional 436,891 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 424.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $877,390,000 after purchasing an additional 435,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in Clorox by 5,442.5% in the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 273,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,622,000 after purchasing an additional 268,966 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $163.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.14. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $121.76 and a fifty-two week high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 292.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.29.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.