Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Stake in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 16.3% in Q2, now holding 484,352 shares valued at approximately $57.83 million.
• Insider selling occurred, with COO Eric H. Reynolds selling 15,041 shares at an average price of $123.78, reducing their ownership by 21.72%.
• Analysts have lowered Clorox's price targets, with Citigroup and Goldman Sachs giving it a "neutral" and "sell" rating, respectively, resulting in a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $130.20.

Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 484,352 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,026 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.39% of Clorox worth $57,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Clorox by 0.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,266 shares of the company's stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Clorox by 4.4% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,768 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC increased its position in Clorox by 2.8% during the first quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the company's stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its position in Clorox by 4.3% during the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,064 shares of the company's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust increased its position in Clorox by 69.5% during the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 217 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 54,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. This trade represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Clorox from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $127.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on Clorox from $118.00 to $110.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $130.20.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock opened at $119.73 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $116.53 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $121.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.73. 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 $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm'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. Equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.07%.

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.

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