Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Has $538,000 Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lessened its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,771 shares of the company’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Clorox were worth $538,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,341,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,622,000 after buying an additional 44,344 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,415,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,517,000 after buying an additional 357,964 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 47,879 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Clorox by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,738,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,904,000 after buying an additional 30,902 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Clorox by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,633,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $214,103,000 after buying an additional 42,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.79. 1,101,982 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,205,563. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 234.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 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. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.23.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 761.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.63.

About Clorox

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.