Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,257 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,720 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Clorox worth $24,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in Clorox during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.37. The company had a trading volume of 347,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,549. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.08. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $169.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Clorox's payout ratio is 170.04%.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CLX. DA Davidson upped their target price on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.00.

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.