The Clorox Company $CLX Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its Clorox stake by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1,365,808 shares valued at about $137.7 million. Institutional ownership of Clorox remains high at 78.53%.
• Analyst sentiment has turned cautious, with several firms cutting price targets and the consensus rating now at "Reduce" with a $103.40 price target. The stock has one Buy, eleven Hold, and five Sell ratings.
• Clorox recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.64 EPS versus $1.55 expected, and it reaffirmed FY2026 guidance of 5.45 to 5.65 EPS. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.24, implying a 5.4% annualized yield.

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,365,808 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 68,792 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 1.13% of Clorox worth $137,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 25,732 shares of the company's stock worth $3,173,000 after acquiring an additional 10,065 shares during the last quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 250.6% during the 4th quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 55,064 shares of the company's stock worth $5,552,000 after buying an additional 39,360 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 928,654 shares of the company's stock worth $114,506,000 after buying an additional 197,330 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 417,229 shares of the company's stock worth $51,444,000 after buying an additional 33,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 221.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 86,426 shares of the company's stock worth $10,656,000 after buying an additional 59,533 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $128.00 to $97.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Clorox from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Clorox from $98.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $102.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $103.40.

Clorox Stock Down 0.3%

Clorox stock opened at $92.54 on Wednesday. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $84.70 and a fifty-two week high of $136.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.62. The company has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.59.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.09. Clorox had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 443.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.450-5.650 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 80.52%.

Key Stories Impacting Clorox

Here are the key news stories impacting Clorox this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Clorox was highlighted as outperforming other household-products stocks on a strong trading day, suggesting relative resilience in the group. Clorox Co. stock outperforms competitors on strong trading day
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target on Clorox to $95 from $100 but kept an "equal weight" rating, implying only limited upside from current levels. Clorox NYSE: CLX Price Target Cut to $95.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered multiple forward earnings estimates for Clorox, including FY2026, FY2027, and FY2028, while maintaining a "Strong Sell" rating, signaling expectations for weaker profitability ahead.
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating claims on behalf of Clorox investors, adding a legal overhang that can weigh on sentiment. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of The Clorox Company - CLX

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $85.82 per share, with a total value of $429,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,544,760. The trade was a 38.46% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company's flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox's diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.

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