Northstar Advisory Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,975 Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 2,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

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

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.51. 654,508 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,133,772. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $147.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $140.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The company has a market cap of $49.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS 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 business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus raised Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

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.