The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Valmark Advisers Inc.

Valmark Advisers Inc. reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,387 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $122.08 on Wednesday. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $120.33 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.74.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a return on equity of 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.00.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.