Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 1,201,217 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 39.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,836,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,201,217 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.55% of Kimberly-Clark worth $253,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 333.3% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on 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 cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB opened at $142.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $47.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $142.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.18.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. 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.