Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Lowers Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS decreased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 210,411 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,556 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned 0.17% of Clorox worth $30,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $259,041,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 75.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,163,000 after acquiring an additional 585,526 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 688.7% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 587,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,535,000 after acquiring an additional 513,171 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Clorox by 549.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 542,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,144,000 after buying an additional 459,203 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its position in Clorox by 187.9% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company's stock worth $113,508,000 after buying an additional 456,114 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $119.00 price target on Clorox and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $146.83.

Clorox Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:CLX traded up $1.95 on Wednesday, reaching $126.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 582,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,595,295. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $117.35 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07. The firm has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.91.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.