Morgan Stanley Cuts Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target to $137.00

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $137.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price target (down from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on Clorox and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.36.

Clorox Stock Down 2.0%

CLX stock opened at $123.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $126.07 and a 200-day moving average of $138.86. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $117.35 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.49.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 74.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Clorox

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 69.5% during the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors 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.