Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires 10,255 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 1.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 826,158 shares of the company's stock after buying 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 quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 2.5% in the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in Clorox by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,266 shares of the company's stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Clorox by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its position in Clorox by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Clorox by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 15,008 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CLX. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased 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. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $148.92.

Insider Activity

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 acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $126.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,491,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,073. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $143.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.51. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $117.35 and a 52 week high of $171.37.

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