The Clorox Company $CLX Shares Sold by Columbia Asset Management

Key Points

• Columbia Asset Management significantly reduced its stake in Clorox by 98.8%, now owning only 9,550 shares after selling over 818,000 shares during the second quarter.
• Clorox's quarterly earnings exceeded consensus estimates, reporting $2.87 EPS and $1.99 billion in revenue, marking a 4.5% year-over-year increase.
• A number of research analysts have downgraded Clorox's stock price targets, with an average target of $141.09, and the stock receiving one Buy rating, eight Hold ratings, and two Sell ratings.

Columbia Asset Management decreased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 98.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,550 shares of the company's stock after selling 818,135 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Clorox were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Albion Financial Group UT grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.3% in the second quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 34,889 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,189,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 26.4% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,442 shares of the company's stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 47.2% in the second quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $360,000 after buying an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 4.3% in the second quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 2,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 5.5% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,306 shares of the company's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays decreased their target price on Clorox from $118.00 to $112.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Clorox from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $141.09.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $123.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.52. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $123.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.02. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $116.53 and a 1 year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Clorox'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. On average, analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 22nd. Clorox's payout ratio is 76.07%.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total value of $1,861,774.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 54,221 shares in the company, valued at $6,711,475.38. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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