Hancock Whitney Corp Reduces Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 11.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Insight Folios Inc grew its position in shares of Clorox by 3.0% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 17.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $167.16 on Thursday. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.35. The company has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.24, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $162.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

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.