Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.55 Million Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,353 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,380,724 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 13,547.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 440,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,063,000 after purchasing an additional 436,891 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 424.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted 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 valued at $44,622,000 after purchasing an additional 268,966 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $169.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $162.53 and a 200-day moving average of $147.73. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $169.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on CLX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.00.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.