Clorox (NYSE:CLX) Price Target Lowered to $148.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $150.00 to $148.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CLX. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Clorox from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Clorox to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $132.00 to $122.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $141.44.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $144.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $133.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73. Clorox has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $169.14.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 382.58%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.4 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 248.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,098 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Clorox by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,860,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 17,658.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,078,000 after acquiring an additional 481,725 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.