Ethic Inc. Sells 4,049 Shares of The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 21.1%, selling 4,049 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to 15,178 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million.
• Research analysts have lowered price targets for Clorox, with Bank of America and Citigroup both downgrading their targets to $125 and $130 respectively, reflecting a generally cautious outlook.
• The Clorox Company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, payable on November 6th, which translates to an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%.

Ethic Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,178 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,049 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,808,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,573,076 shares of the company's stock worth $2,293,135,000 after acquiring an additional 65,924 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,528,920 shares of the company's stock worth $225,133,000 after acquiring an additional 34,655 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 94,371 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,157,257 shares of the company's stock worth $170,406,000 after acquiring an additional 41,485 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 118.8% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,085,661 shares of the company's stock worth $159,699,000 after acquiring an additional 589,544 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Clorox from $120.00 to $117.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Clorox from $118.00 to $110.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $128.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Clorox has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $130.20.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $116.02 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $121.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.94. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $115.83 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total transaction of $1,861,774.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 54,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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