US Bancorp DE Buys 10,266 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 8.1%, acquiring an additional 10,266 shares, totaling approximately $20.16 million in ownership.
• Clorox recently reported a strong quarterly performance with an EPS of $2.87, exceeding estimates, alongside a 4.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.24 per share, representing a current dividend yield of 4.0%.

US Bancorp DE raised its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 136,931 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,266 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned about 0.11% of Clorox worth $20,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,163,000 after purchasing an additional 585,526 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 688.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 587,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $86,535,000 after purchasing an additional 513,171 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 549.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 542,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,144,000 after purchasing an additional 459,203 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 154.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 570,503 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,655,000 after purchasing an additional 346,449 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 11,108.0% in the 1st 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. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $123.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $117.35 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $126.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.07.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 538.72% and a net margin of 11.40%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. This is a boost from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 87.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.

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