The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 4.7%, selling 3,310 shares and now holding 67,185 shares valued at approximately $9.89 million.
• Clorox recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.87 per share, exceeding analysts' estimate of $2.24, with a revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, increasing from $1.22, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.0% and reflecting a payout ratio of 74.85%.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,185 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,310 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Clorox worth $9,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 1st quarter worth about $399,000. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 1st quarter worth about $400,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Clorox by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 28,510 shares of the company's stock worth $4,198,000 after acquiring an additional 7,159 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 25,582 shares of the company's stock worth $3,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,085 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.36.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX traded down $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.89. 1,299,586 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,873,422. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $125.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $117.35 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 74.85%.

Clorox Company 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.