Wellington Management Group LLP Decreases Stake in The Clorox Company $CLX

Key Points

• Wellington Management cut its Clorox stake by 48% in the second quarter, selling 36,588 shares and retaining 39,619 shares valued at approximately $3.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.53% of Clorox.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious: Clorox has a consensus rating of “Reduce”, based on 12 Hold ratings and five Sell ratings, with an average price target of $102.40.
• Clorox slightly exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but revenue declined 2% year over year. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.25, equal to a 5.6% annualized yield, though its payout ratio exceeds 100%.

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 48.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,588 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Clorox were worth $3,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its position in Clorox by 131.8% during the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC now owns 62,454 shares of the company's stock worth $6,297,000 after purchasing an additional 35,506 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,405,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,680,000 after buying an additional 80,618 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,621,000. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 27,537 shares of the company's stock worth $2,777,000 after buying an additional 11,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,966,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on CLX. Wall Street Zen cut Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on Clorox from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Clorox from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore set a $99.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $125.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $102.40.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX opened at $89.61 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $99.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.89. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $84.70 and a 12-month high of $128.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.02. Clorox had a net margin of 8.74% and a return on equity of 522.23%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.87 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. This is a boost from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is 103.73%.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company's flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox's diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.

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