Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Acquires 7,159 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 33.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,510 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,159 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Clorox were worth $4,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 124,428 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,098,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $501,925,000 after buying an additional 69,969 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Clorox by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,761,000 after purchasing an additional 9,582 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 18.2% in 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. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Trading Down 0.6%

CLX traded down $0.75 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $126.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,407,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,351,126. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $136.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.54. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $126.40 and a 12-month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. Clorox's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 acquisition, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.