Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 1,457,200 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 97.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,457,200 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $5,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.21.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $147.91 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $159.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.61. The company has a market capitalization of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.94. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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.