The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stake Raised by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC raised its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,741 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,702 shares during the quarter. Clorox makes up about 3.0% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Clorox worth $29,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $125.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 309,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,402,564. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $143.20. The firm has a market cap of $15.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.51. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $117.35 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 324.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. The business'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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $148.92.

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.