Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,521 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 5.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,740 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,521 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Clorox worth $21,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.5% during the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the company's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,266 shares of the company's stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Clorox by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Clorox by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 15,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Clorox by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,271 shares of the company's stock worth $1,506,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:CLX traded down $1.29 on Friday, hitting $126.55. 1,376,644 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,414,094. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $117.35 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.51.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 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 target on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $148.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.