Champlain Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Champlain Investment Partners LLC reduced its shares in The Clorox Company by 7.6%, now holding approximately 858,144 shares valued at $126.36 million.
• Clorox reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.87, exceeding estimates, along with a revenue of $1.99 billion, marking a 4.5% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.24 per share, with a yield of 4.2%, following a previous dividend of $1.22.

Champlain Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 858,144 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,090 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.70% of Clorox worth $126,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $118.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,815,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,189. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $116.53 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's fifty day moving average is $123.93 and its 200 day moving average is $134.16. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. Analysts anticipate 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 paid a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price target (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $143.36.

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.