Polymer Capital Management US LLC Buys Shares of 3,945 The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $641,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $259,041,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Clorox by 75.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,163,000 after acquiring an additional 585,526 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in Clorox by 187.9% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,508,000 after acquiring an additional 456,114 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 42.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,390,000 after purchasing an additional 265,455 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.00.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $143.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.06 and its 200-day moving average is $158.36. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

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.