Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Given New $155.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $161.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on CLX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.00.

Clorox Trading Down 3.3 %

Clorox stock opened at $143.76 on Wednesday. Clorox has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.06 and a 200-day moving average of $158.44.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Clorox 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 $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CLX. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 565,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,893,000 after acquiring an additional 6,987 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 59,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,736,000 after acquiring an additional 12,428 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Clorox by 119.6% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $1,566,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.