Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Makes New Investment in The Clorox Company $CLX

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 116,079 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,079,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CLX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $958,640,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Clorox by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,434,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,946,000 after purchasing an additional 282,794 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,880,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,085,000 after buying an additional 884,751 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Clorox by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,172,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,613,000 after buying an additional 10,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Clorox by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,136,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,244,000 after buying an additional 426,433 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CLX shares. Evercore set a $99.00 price objective on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on Clorox from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Clorox from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Clorox from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Clorox from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $102.40.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $107.00 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $98.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.07. The company has a market cap of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.54. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $84.70 and a 12-month high of $128.90. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.02. Clorox had a return on equity of 522.23% and a net margin of 8.74%.The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.87 earnings per share. Clorox’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 103.73%.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company’s flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox’s diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.