The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 27.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 256,814 shares of the company's stock after selling 96,553 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.21% of Clorox worth $37,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Clorox by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,507,152 shares of the company's stock worth $2,518,517,000 after acquiring an additional 124,428 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,098,302 shares of the company's stock worth $501,925,000 after acquiring an additional 69,969 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Clorox by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock worth $380,761,000 after acquiring an additional 9,582 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Clorox by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,494,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,684,000 after purchasing an additional 230,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Down 3.3%

NYSE:CLX traded down $4.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.03. 1,709,082 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,361,693. The company has a fifty day moving average of $134.91 and a 200 day moving average of $148.22. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $122.84 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $15.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.