AlphaQuest LLC Boosts Stake in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in The Clorox Company by 109.4% in the first quarter, now owning 11,873 shares valued at $1.75 million.
• The Clorox Company reported earnings of $2.87 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 4.5% year-over-year.
• Clorox has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.1%, which is a positive increase from the previous dividend.

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 109.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,873 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,203 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Clorox were worth $1,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,573,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,293,135,000 after buying an additional 65,924 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Clorox by 2.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,528,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,133,000 after purchasing an additional 34,655 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,421,909 shares of the company's stock worth $230,932,000 after purchasing an additional 316,688 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,361,710 shares of the company's stock worth $200,512,000 after purchasing an additional 94,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,115,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,213,000 after buying an additional 123,200 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on CLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $143.36.

Clorox Trading Up 1.1%

CLX stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $118.95. 1,787,012 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,642,615. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $117.35 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.89. The company has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.07%.

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.