Capital Investment Counsel Inc Trims Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc trimmed its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Clorox were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Clorox by 0.8% during the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in Clorox by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,098,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,925,000 after purchasing an additional 69,969 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Clorox by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,344,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,761,000 after purchasing an additional 9,582 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $259,041,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,494,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,684,000 after buying an additional 230,173 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $124.63 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $117.35 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.40. The company has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.51.

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). The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 9.89% and a return on equity of 324.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of 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. decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Three investment 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.50.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In related 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 purchase, the director directly owned 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.