Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 2,371 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 141,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,371 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Clorox worth $19,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 308.5% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Clorox from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Clorox in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.19.

Clorox Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of CLX opened at $161.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.48, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.39. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $114.68 and a twelve month high of $162.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This is a boost from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 252.85%.

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.