Americana Partners LLC Raises Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Americana Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,962 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the first quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% in 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. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $144.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,421,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,142,577. The firm has a market cap of $48.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $145.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.51. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 value of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.