Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc significantly reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 77%, owning 122,402 shares after selling 409,469 shares in the first quarter.
• Clorox declared a quarterly dividend of $1.24, an increase from the previous $1.22, representing a 4.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 76.07%.
• Several brokerages have adjusted their price targets on Clorox, with a current consensus target of $143.36 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 77.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,402 shares of the company's stock after selling 409,469 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.10% of Clorox worth $18,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CLX. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the company's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Clorox by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,184,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Clorox by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 430,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,984,000 after buying an additional 27,513 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Clorox by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 931,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $151,202,000 after buying an additional 93,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Clorox by 391.0% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 36,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,008,000 after buying an additional 29,460 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX traded up $0.3360 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.1760. 1,278,389 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,919,885. The business's fifty day moving average price is $124.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $117.35 and a 52 week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $143.36.

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.