The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires Shares of 78,586 The Clorox Company $CLX

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 78,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,500,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth about $66,000. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,021,000. Dearborn Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at about $347,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at about $608,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CLX. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore set a $99.00 price objective on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Clorox from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $102.40.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $102.57 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.60. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $84.70 and a 12 month high of $128.90. The company has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.38 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.87 earnings per share. Clorox has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.700-6.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.8 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.73%.

Clorox Company 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.