HighTower Advisors LLC Raises Position in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its Clorox position by 47% in the second quarter, owning 83,053 shares worth approximately $7.9 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 78.53% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with 12 Hold ratings and five Sell ratings producing a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $102.40. Clorox shares recently opened at $88.71, near the lower end of their 52-week range.
• Clorox slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.66 in adjusted EPS and $1.95 billion in revenue, although revenue declined 2% year over year. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25 per share, representing a 5.6% annualized yield.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,053 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,552 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Clorox worth $7,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CLX. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 1,807.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 267 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Markowski Investments bought a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $98.00 target price on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Evercore set a $99.00 price target on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $102.40.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $88.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.64. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $84.70 and a 52 week high of $128.90.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.02. Clorox had a return on equity of 522.23% and a net margin of 8.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.87 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.73%.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company NYSE: CLX is a consumer products company that develops, manufactures and markets household, health and wellness, and lifestyle products. Its portfolio includes cleaning and disinfecting products, laundry and home-care items, food products, personal-care products, water-filtration systems, charcoal, and cat litter.

Clorox's brands include Clorox bleach and disinfecting products, Pine-Sol, Fresh Step and Scoop Away, Kingsford, Brita, Burt's Bees, Hidden Valley, and products marketed under the Glad name.

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