Marshall Wace LLP Has $88.14 Million Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 549.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 542,726 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 459,203 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Clorox were worth $88,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $259,041,000. FMR LLC increased its position in Clorox by 75.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,163,000 after buying an additional 585,526 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in Clorox by 187.9% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,508,000 after buying an additional 456,114 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,816,000 after buying an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake 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 worth $57,390,000 after acquiring an additional 265,455 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of CLX opened at $136.89 on Thursday. 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 Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $146.89 and its 200-day moving average is $156.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.25.

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.