The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 16.7%, selling 36,268 shares to end with approximately 0.15% ownership valued at $26.7 million.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their positions in Clorox, with FMR LLC raising its stake by 75.4% and KBC Group NV by 688.7% in the latest quarter.
• Clorox's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.45, missing expectations by $0.12, and a revenue drop of 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

TD Asset Management Inc decreased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 16.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 181,155 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,268 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.15% of Clorox worth $26,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,951 shares of the company's stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in Clorox by 167.9% during the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 115,502 shares of the company's stock worth $17,008,000 after acquiring an additional 72,395 shares during the period. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Clorox by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 17,459 shares of the company's stock worth $2,571,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $637,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Clorox by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 84,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,478,000 after buying an additional 28,046 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Clorox Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of CLX traded down $2.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $123.06. The company had a trading volume of 3,928,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,065. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $126.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.01. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $117.35 and a 1 year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 538.72% and a net margin of 11.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.07%.

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.