Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $2.52 Million Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,510 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 920 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $2,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 512.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,315,000 after buying an additional 453,624 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in Clorox by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,816,000 after purchasing an additional 308,234 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Clorox by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,390,000 after purchasing an additional 265,455 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Clorox by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,947,000 after purchasing an additional 245,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $37,935,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $147.32 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $154.20 and its 200 day moving average is $160.23. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.62.

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.