The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.22

The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 17th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of 1.22 per share on Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd.

Clorox has increased its dividend by an average of 3.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 47 years. Clorox has a payout ratio of 73.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Clorox to earn $6.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 69.9%.

Clorox Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of CLX opened at $163.43 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.68, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. Clorox has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $169.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $148.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. Analysts predict that Clorox will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CLX. Citigroup boosted their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective on the stock. Argus raised shares of Clorox to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.50.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Company Profile

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.