Wells Fargo & Company Trims Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Target Price to $135.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Clorox from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a sell rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from an underperform rating to a hold rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $149.13.

Clorox Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE CLX traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $138.23. The company had a trading volume of 2,027,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,273,688. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week high of $176.24. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm's 50 day moving average is $148.74 and its 200 day moving average is $143.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.38. Clorox had a return on equity of 302.49% and a net margin of 3.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 248.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.2% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services grew its position in Clorox by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 2,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,130 shares of the company's stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 21,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,097,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

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.