JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target to $135.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its target price for Clorox (NYSE:CLX) stock from $133.00 to $135.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.45% from the previous close.
• Clorox reported earnings of $2.87 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.24, with revenue of $1.99 billion, a 4.5% increase from the previous year.
• Institutional investors currently hold 78.53% of Clorox shares, demonstrating strong institutional interest in the stock.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $133.00 to $135.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $138.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $142.18.

Clorox Stock Down 1.9%

CLX traded down $2.33 during trading on Monday, reaching $123.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,285,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,698. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The stock's 50 day moving average is $124.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.88. Clorox has a one year low of $116.53 and a one year high of $171.37.

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

Clorox Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In related news, COO Eric H. Reynolds sold 15,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.78, for a total value of $1,861,774.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 54,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,711,475.38. The trade was a 21.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 69.5% in the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 217 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 567.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 227 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Clorox

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.