Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 258,815 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,272 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.21% of Clorox worth $42,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Clorox by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,249 shares of the company's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $374,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its position in Clorox by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 5,450 shares of the company's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $428,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.21.

Clorox Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of CLX traded up $4.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $157.41. 2,375,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,353,779. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.63. The company has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.42. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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.