Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target Raised to $173.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $171.00 to $173.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

CLX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.64.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $148.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. Clorox has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.67.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.04%.

Institutional Trading of Clorox

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 213,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,707,000 after purchasing an additional 21,778 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Clorox by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Clorox by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.