Vest Financial LLC Purchases 457,807 Shares of The Clorox Company $CLX

Vest Financial LLC raised its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 93.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 945,292 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 457,807 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $76,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the second quarter valued at approximately $958,640,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth $179,780,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,418,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,969,000 after purchasing an additional 237,301 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Clorox by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,280,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,670,000 after purchasing an additional 29,181 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its position in Clorox by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,247,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,075,000 after purchasing an additional 315,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $84.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $10.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.59. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $79.12 and a 52 week high of $128.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 522.23% and a net margin of 8.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.87 earnings per share. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 103.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Clorox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $97.00 to $87.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $93.57.

About Clorox

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.