Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 0.4%, owning approximately 12.64% of its shares valued at $2.29 billion after acquiring 65,924 shares in the first quarter.
• Clorox reported $2.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.24, with revenues of $1.99 billion, up 4.5% from the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $1.22, with a current yield of 4.0%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,573,076 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 65,924 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.64% of Clorox worth $2,293,135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 239.1% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc increased its holdings in Clorox by 140.7% during the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 361 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox during the 1st quarter worth $58,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 0.6%

CLX stock traded up $0.71 on Tuesday, hitting $122.80. 1,944,539 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,875,956. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $117.35 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $125.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.49.

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 return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. 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 previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Clorox's payout ratio is presently 74.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CLX. Barclays reduced their price objective on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.36.

Clorox Company 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.