Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 589,544 Shares of The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 118.8%, acquiring an additional 589,544 shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,085,661 shares valued at approximately $159.7 million.
• The Clorox Company reported strong earnings with an EPS of $2.87, exceeding expectations, and also announced a dividend increase to $1.24 per share.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions in Clorox, with the company now having 78.53% of its stock owned by institutional investors.

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 118.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,085,661 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 589,544 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.88% of Clorox worth $159,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,573,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,293,135,000 after acquiring an additional 65,924 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,528,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,133,000 after acquiring an additional 34,655 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,421,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,932,000 after acquiring an additional 316,688 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 7.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,361,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,512,000 after acquiring an additional 94,371 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,115,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $181,213,000 after acquiring an additional 123,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $120.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The company has a market cap of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $117.35 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.95.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CLX. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $143.36.

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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