Traders Buy High Volume of Clorox Call Options (NYSE:CLX)

Key Points

• Call-option activity was unusually high: Traders bought 9,206 Clorox call options, 51% above the typical volume of 6,095.
• Director Pierre Breber purchased 4,000 shares for about $400,240, increasing his direct ownership by 22.22%. Institutional investors own 78.53% of Clorox shares.
• Clorox reported quarterly EPS of $1.55, beating estimates of $1.07, and revenue rose 33.3% year over year to $1.91 billion. Analysts’ average rating is “Reduce,” with an average price target of $93.79.

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 9,206 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the typical volume of 6,095 call options.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $100.06 per share, for a total transaction of $400,240.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 22,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,201,320. This trade represents a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Clorox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $958,640,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $163,038,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter worth $179,780,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter worth $123,154,000. Finally, Equity Investment Corp bought a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter valued at $111,800,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CLX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Clorox from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $93.79.

Clorox Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE:CLX traded up $2.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $108.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,489,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,673,146. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.64. Clorox has a 1 year low of $79.12 and a 1 year high of $128.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.91, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 608.30%. The company's revenue was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Clorox will post 5.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.93%.

Clorox Company Profile

The Clorox Company is a consumer products company founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California. It makes and markets products for household cleaning, food, water filtration, personal care and pet care. Its portfolio includes Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Glad trash bags and food-storage products, Kingsford charcoal, Brita water filters, Hidden Valley dressings and sauces, Burt's Bees personal-care products, and Fresh Step cat litter. The company also sells products under brands such as Pine-Sol and Liquid-Plumr.

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