The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 5.0% during Q1, owning 60,688 shares after selling 3,206 shares. These holdings were valued at approximately $8.94 million at quarter-end.
• Wall Street analysts have lowered their target prices for Clorox, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.36.
• Clorox recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.24 per share, resulting in a 4.0% dividend yield, up from $1.22 per share in the previous quarter.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,688 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,206 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Clorox were worth $8,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 239.1% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 140.7% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 361 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CLX. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.36.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $122.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,944,539 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,875,956. The stock has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $117.35 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $125.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is 76.07%.

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.