Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Hits New 1-Year High at $168.82

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $168.82 and last traded at $166.93, with a volume of 64704 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $166.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CLX. TD Cowen started coverage on Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.50.

Clorox Stock Down 0.8 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 85.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. Analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Clorox by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,150,000 after purchasing an additional 48,632 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 150.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after buying an additional 960,094 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Clorox by 1,715.5% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,411,000 after buying an additional 1,380,724 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $144,844,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 14.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,200,000 after acquiring an additional 120,716 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

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.