Analysts Set The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Target Price at $143.36

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Reduce" from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.3636.

A number of research firms have commented on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 16,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,599,000 after purchasing an additional 847 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 78.3% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the company's stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $187,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 35,327 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,737,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in shares of Clorox by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 3,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $122.17. 1,204,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,871,838. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.64. Clorox has a 52 week low of $117.35 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.49.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Clorox's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is an increase from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's payout ratio is 76.07%.

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.