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

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

Clorox has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.1% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 47 years. Clorox has a dividend payout ratio of 73.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 %

CLX stock opened at $163.43 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $148.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 84.68, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. Clorox has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Clorox will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus raised Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.50.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% 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.