Hennessy Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,900 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional raised 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 worth $825,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 10,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the first quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KMB. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $144.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $145.68.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.