UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Position in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• UBS AM increased its holdings in The Clorox Company by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, owning approximately 1.16 million shares worth $170.41 million.
• Clorox reported earnings of $2.87 per share, surpassing expectations, with a 4.5% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.24, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of 76.07%.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,157,257 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 41,485 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned about 0.94% of Clorox worth $170,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 118.8% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,085,661 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,699,000 after buying an additional 589,544 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Clorox by 688.7% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 587,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,535,000 after buying an additional 513,171 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 412.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 598,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,167,000 after purchasing an additional 481,846 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 147.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 707,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $104,107,000 after purchasing an additional 421,453 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 11,108.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 349,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,409,000 after purchasing an additional 346,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 54,221 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,711,475.38. This represents a 21.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Clorox Trading Up 1.0%

CLX stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $126.08. 299,045 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,658,760. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $124.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $116.53 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm'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, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 22nd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, September 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. 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 research report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $138.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target 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.