Connors Investor Services Inc. Sells 225 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Connors Investor Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KMB. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth about $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $144.20 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.69. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $48.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

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 company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the prior 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, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

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.