The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Bought by Commerce Bank

Key Points

• Commerce Bank increased its holdings in The Clorox Company by 13.5%, owning 30,245 shares worth $4.45 million after additional purchases in the first quarter.
• Clorox reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.87 for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showing a 4.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.24 per share, reflecting a 4.0% yield for shareholders.

Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,245 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Clorox were worth $4,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 239.1% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.36.

Clorox Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE CLX traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $124.92. 916,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,634,686. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The stock has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $117.35 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $125.65 and a 200 day moving average of $138.19.

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. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.85%.

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.