The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 738,244 shares of the company's stock after selling 227,065 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.60% of Clorox worth $119,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Clorox by 10.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,225 shares of the company's stock worth $21,840,000 after buying an additional 12,776 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company's stock worth $24,641,000 after buying an additional 9,720 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,544,000 after buying an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Clorox by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its position in Clorox by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $151.23.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX traded down $1.60 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.46. 1,338,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,311,182. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $142.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. The company's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.61%.

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.