Willis Investment Counsel Increases Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Willis Investment Counsel grew its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 202,678 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,893 shares during the quarter. Clorox comprises 2.0% of Willis Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.16% of Clorox worth $29,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Clorox by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,507,152 shares of the company's stock worth $2,518,517,000 after buying an additional 124,428 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,098,302 shares of the company's stock worth $501,925,000 after acquiring an additional 69,969 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Clorox by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company's stock worth $380,761,000 after acquiring an additional 9,582 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Clorox by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,494,265 shares of the company's stock worth $242,684,000 after acquiring an additional 230,173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Up 0.6%

CLX traded up $0.75 on Monday, hitting $123.82. 1,987,981 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,364,200. The company has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.91. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $122.84 and a twelve month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.23.

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 now directly owns 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 owned by company insiders.

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.