Vest Financial LLC Lowers Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Vest Financial LLC decreased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 338,189 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,825 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Clorox worth $49,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at about $254,000. Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its holdings in Clorox by 75.6% in the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 4,424 shares of the company's stock valued at $651,000 after buying an additional 1,904 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 56.2% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,005,000 after buying an additional 2,456 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company grew its holdings in Clorox by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 14,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,122,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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 decreased their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $151.23.

Clorox Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE CLX opened at $127.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $126.99 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Clorox

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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