Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $104.11 Million Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 147.6%, owning 707,005 shares valued at approximately $104.1 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• The Clorox Company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.24 per share, up from $1.22, resulting in an annualized payout of $4.96 and a dividend yield of 4.0%.
• Multiple brokerages adjusted their price targets on Clorox, with Wells Fargo reducing its target from $138 to $130, while JPMorgan increased it from $133 to $135, reflecting varied analyst sentiments on the stock.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 147.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 707,005 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 421,453 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Clorox worth $104,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Clorox by 118.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,085,661 shares of the company's stock worth $159,699,000 after purchasing an additional 589,544 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 688.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 587,679 shares of the company's stock worth $86,535,000 after acquiring an additional 513,171 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Clorox by 412.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 598,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,167,000 after buying an additional 481,846 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Clorox by 11,108.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 349,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,409,000 after buying an additional 346,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,300,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total value of $1,861,774.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 54,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,711,475.38. This represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Clorox from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Barclays decreased their target price 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 cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $142.18.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded down $1.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $124.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,707,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,133. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.59. The stock has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.84. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $116.53 and a 1-year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 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 business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 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.