Martin Capital Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Martin Capital Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 172.6% during the second quarter, owning 5,615 shares worth approximately $674,000.
• Clorox's recent earnings report showed better-than-expected results, with an EPS of $2.87 compared to analysts' expectations of $2.24, along with a revenue of $1.99 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, representing an annual dividend yield of 4.0%, which is an increase from the previous quarterly dividend.

Martin Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 172.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,615 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Clorox were worth $674,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in Clorox by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 11,102 shares of the company's stock worth $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.7% in the second quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 9.5% in the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,618 shares of the company's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.5% during the second quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 15,598 shares of the company's stock worth $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 12.0% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 941,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,047,000 after buying an additional 100,764 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.79. 1,737,307 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,784,062. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $116.53 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $124.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.86. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total value of $1,861,774.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 54,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,711,475.38. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $138.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $142.18.

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.