Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $859,000 Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,835 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.5% during the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on Clorox and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.23.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $123.03 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.35. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $122.84 and a 12 month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.