The Clorox Company $CLX Shares Sold by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 1.1%, selling 7,250 shares, while still holding 631,312 shares valued at approximately $92.9 million.
• Clorox recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.24 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 76.07%.
• Major financial analysts have adjusted their price targets for Clorox, with UBS lowering its target to $134, while JPMorgan raised it slightly to $135, indicating a generally neutral outlook on the stock.

Acadian Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 631,312 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,250 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 0.51% of Clorox worth $92,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in Clorox in the first quarter valued at $35,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 239.1% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its holdings in Clorox by 140.7% in the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 361 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox in the first quarter valued at $58,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CLX. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $138.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. 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 lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $142.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total transaction of $1,861,774.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 54,221 shares in the company, valued at $6,711,475.38. This represents a 21.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX traded down $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $123.75. 1,519,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,811,479. 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 quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $124.27 and a 200-day moving average of $132.44. The stock has a market cap of $15.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This is a boost from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 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.