The Clorox Company $CLX Shares Purchased by Quantitative Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 868.9% during Q1, acquiring a total of 23,747 shares worth approximately $3.5 million.
• Clorox reported $2.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues of $1.99 billion, a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company has declared a $1.24 quarterly dividend, up from $1.22, reflecting a strong payout ratio of 76.07% and an annualized yield of 4.1%.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 868.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,747 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,296 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Clorox were worth $3,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Clorox by 118.8% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,085,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,699,000 after acquiring an additional 589,544 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 688.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 587,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,535,000 after purchasing an additional 513,171 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 154.6% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 570,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,655,000 after purchasing an additional 346,449 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 11,108.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 349,130 shares of the company's stock worth $51,409,000 after purchasing an additional 346,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,421,909 shares of the company's stock worth $230,932,000 after buying an additional 316,688 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a 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 on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays cut their target price on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX traded up $1.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $118.95. 1,789,454 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,927,673. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.89. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $117.35 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%.The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.07%.

About Clorox

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.