USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 14,128 Shares of The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its holdings in The Clorox Company by 34.7%, selling 14,128 shares and retaining a total of 26,595 shares, valued at approximately $3.9 million.
• Clorox recently reported earnings of $2.87 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, with a 4.5% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.24 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.9% and a payout ratio of 76.07%.

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 34.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,595 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,128 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Clorox were worth $3,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Clorox by 118.8% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,085,661 shares of the company's stock worth $159,699,000 after acquiring an additional 589,544 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Clorox by 688.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 587,679 shares of the company's stock worth $86,535,000 after acquiring an additional 513,171 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 412.1% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 598,758 shares of the company's stock worth $88,167,000 after purchasing an additional 481,846 shares during the period. Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 154.6% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 570,503 shares of the company's stock worth $92,655,000 after purchasing an additional 346,449 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 11,108.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 349,130 shares of the company's stock worth $51,409,000 after purchasing an additional 346,015 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE:CLX traded down $0.66 on Friday, reaching $123.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,519,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,811,479. The company has a market capitalization of $15.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.52. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $116.53 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $124.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.44.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Clorox has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.950-6.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a dividend of $1.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 76.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CLX. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 target price (down from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $142.18.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 54,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. This represents a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.