Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 11.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,025 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,482 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 204,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,272,000 after acquiring an additional 2,512 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 22,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,152,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 51.7% in the 2nd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $144.58. 1,447,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,168,313. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.37. The company has a market capitalization of $48.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $145.68.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.