ING Groep NV Sells 103,651 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

ING Groep NV reduced its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 44,720 shares of the company's stock after selling 103,651 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Clorox were worth $7,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock worth $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Clorox by 1.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 17,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,820,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Clorox by 4.5% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 45.0% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 323,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,720,000 after purchasing an additional 100,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Five 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.00.

Clorox Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CLX traded up $1.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $167.64. 1,361,795 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,242,377. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $169.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.45 and a 200 day moving average of $147.47. The stock has a market cap of $20.75 billion, a PE ratio of 58.43, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Clorox's payout ratio is presently 170.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by 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.