AQR Capital Management LLC Has $88.17 Million Holdings in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 412.1% in the 1st quarter, owning 598,758 shares valued at approximately $88.17 million.
• Clorox reported an earnings per share of $2.87 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.63, with revenue reaching $1.99 billion, up 4.5% year-over-year.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.24 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 412.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 598,758 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 481,846 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.49% of Clorox worth $88,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Clorox by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 14,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 245,686 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,902,000 after acquiring an additional 31,624 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 210,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,158,000 after acquiring an additional 35,570 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at $318,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 32,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,342,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clorox news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total value of $1,861,774.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 54,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. This represents a 21.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock traded down $2.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $122.99. The company had a trading volume of 252,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,950. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $124.33 and a 200 day moving average of $132.94. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $116.53 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $138.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $142.18.

Clorox 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.