The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stake Lifted by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 826,158 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,255 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.67% of Clorox worth $121,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 2.3% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock worth $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 4th quarter worth approximately $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position 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 worth $242,684,000 after purchasing an additional 230,173 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Down 1.0%

CLX stock traded down $1.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $126.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,376,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,411,377. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $117.35 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07. The company has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.58.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup cut their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $142.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $148.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Clorox 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.