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% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 141,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,371 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $19,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CLX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 308.5% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of CLX opened at $161.12 on Wednesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $141.23 and a 200 day moving average of $142.52. The company has a market cap of $20.01 billion, a PE ratio of 83.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.39. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $162.67.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. This is a boost from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.19.

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.