Fox Run Management L.L.C. Purchases New Stake in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. has acquired a new stake in The Clorox Company, purchasing 4,604 shares valued at approximately $678,000 in the first quarter.
• The Clorox Company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.24 per share, reflecting a yield of 4.1% and a dividend payout ratio of 76.07%.
• Despite recent reports from analysts lowering target prices, the consensus rating for Clorox remains a "Hold" with an average target price of $143.36.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 2.5% in the first quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Clorox by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,266 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 457 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 3,502 shares of the company's stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CLX. UBS Group dropped their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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 price target on shares of Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $143.36.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX traded up $1.49 on Friday, hitting $121.33. 403,483 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,633,891. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $117.35 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $124.31 and a 200-day moving average of $135.57. 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 capitalization of $14.84 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%.The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Clorox's payout ratio is presently 76.07%.

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.