Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys New Shares in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Clorox by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 15,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $123.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.54. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $122.84 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.22.

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

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.23.

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.