Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target Raised to $137.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $130.00 to $137.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

CLX has been the topic of several other research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a strong sell rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. DA Davidson reissued a neutral rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen started coverage on Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a sell rating and a $122.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $150.36.

Clorox Stock Up 1.4 %

CLX stock opened at $160.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.06, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $157.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.72. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 252.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the first quarter worth about $31,000. First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.