The Clorox Company $CLX Stock: Willis Investment Counsel Reduces Holdings

Willis Investment Counsel lessened its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 62.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 85,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143,800 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Clorox were worth $6,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Clorox by 1.8% in the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 5,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 83.8% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 61.2% in the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Clorox from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Clorox from $97.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Clorox from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Clorox has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $93.57.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $87.54. 971,366 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,637,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $79.12 and a 12 month high of $128.90.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 522.23% and a net margin of 8.74%. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.87 earnings per share. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 103.73%.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California, is a consumer and professional products company. It began with household bleach and has expanded into a portfolio of brands serving cleaning, household, personal care, food, and professional markets.

Its brands include Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Pine-Sol cleaners, Liquid-Plumr drain care, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter, Hidden Valley dressings and dips, Brita water filtration products, and Burt’s Bees personal care items.