The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,392 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,887 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Clorox were worth $4,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Clorox by 0.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock worth $380,761,000 after buying an additional 9,582 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 230,173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Clorox

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.83.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,287,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,629. The company has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.51. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $126.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.15. 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 fifty-two week low of $117.35 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during 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%. Clorox's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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.