The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Purchased by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 219.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,645 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $259,041,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,163,000 after acquiring an additional 585,526 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Clorox by 549.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 542,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,144,000 after acquiring an additional 459,203 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Clorox by 187.9% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,508,000 after purchasing an additional 456,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Clorox by 154.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 570,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,655,000 after purchasing an additional 346,449 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.50.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $118.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.61. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $117.35 and a 1-year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 324.23% and a net margin of 9.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Clorox 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.