Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 9,582 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,344,408 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,582 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $380,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of CLX stock opened at $139.60 on Monday. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.57 and a 200-day moving average of $156.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its 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 return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.83.

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.