Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Makes New $314,000 Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $437,420,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after acquiring an additional 944,920 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,926,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,094 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 277.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 472,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,466,000 after purchasing an additional 347,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 69.2% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 779,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,793,000 after purchasing an additional 318,680 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock traded down $0.99 on Friday, hitting $143.61. 1,252,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,105. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $140.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.78. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $145.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, 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 (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.