The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stake Raised by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,499 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,451 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of Clorox worth $9,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently 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 research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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 research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $148.92.

Clorox Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of CLX stock opened at $127.50 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $128.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.04. 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 twelve month low of $117.35 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.51.

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). The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

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.

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