Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Keene & Associates Inc.

Keene & Associates Inc. cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 281 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark accounts for approximately 2.8% of Keene & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 10,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% during the first quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $143.52 on Monday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.53. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.