The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing 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 about 0.12% of Clorox worth $21,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Clorox Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of CLX stock traded down $1.29 on Friday, reaching $126.55. 1,376,644 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,411,377. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $142.58. 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 Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $117.35 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CLX. Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Clorox from $142.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $148.92.

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.