Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Boosts Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 44.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 536,962 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 166,082 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.44% of Clorox worth $79,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 1st quarter worth approximately $399,000. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the first quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 33.5% in the first quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 28,510 shares of the company's stock worth $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,159 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 565,810 shares of the company's stock worth $91,893,000 after buying an additional 6,987 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the 1st quarter valued at $350,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.50.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Clorox Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of CLX traded up $1.08 on Friday, reaching $119.09. The stock had a trading volume of 5,265,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,384,358. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.74. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $117.35 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. Clorox's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current 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.