Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases Shares of 15,727 The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia purchased 15,727 Clorox shares worth approximately $1.5 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors now own 78.53% of Clorox’s outstanding stock, with BlackRock and other major firms also establishing or expanding positions.
• Analysts remain cautious on Clorox: the stock has a consensus “Reduce” rating, with 12 Hold ratings and five Sell ratings and an average price target of $102.40.
• Clorox exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations but reported a 2% year-over-year revenue decline. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25, equivalent to a 4.8% annualized yield, though its payout ratio is above 100%.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,501,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the second quarter valued at $958,640,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $135,735,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth about $123,154,000. Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth about $111,800,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Clorox by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,341 shares of the company's stock worth $492,085,000 after acquiring an additional 884,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore set a $99.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $102.40.

Clorox Trading Down 0.6%

CLX opened at $104.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.83. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $84.70 and a fifty-two week high of $128.90. The company has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.02. Clorox had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 522.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 103.73%.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company's flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox's diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source