The Clorox Company $CLX Stock Position Lifted by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its holdings in The Clorox Company by 15.6%, acquiring an additional 36,352 shares to own a total of 269,926 shares valued at approximately $39.7 million.
• Clorox reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.87, exceeding analyst estimates of $2.24, while the company also announced a dividend increase to $1.24 per share, yielding 4.1% for investors.
• Wall Street analysts have set a consensus target price for Clorox at $143.36, with mixed ratings, including one "Buy," eight "Hold," and three "Sell" ratings.

Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 15.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 269,926 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,352 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.22% of Clorox worth $39,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 239.1% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 140.7% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 361 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the period. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research 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.com, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $143.36.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $119.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,814,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,502. 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 50 day moving average price of $124.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.22. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $117.35 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $14.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.49.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Clorox's payout ratio is 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.