Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 80,965 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 33.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 321,401 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 80,965 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $31,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Ally Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,000. Jain Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $11,973,000. Westpac Banking Corp grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 54,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,462,000 after acquiring an additional 10,811 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,774,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,258,000 after acquiring an additional 334,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,573,000 after acquiring an additional 25,576 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on KMB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $115.43.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $109.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.42 and a 12-month high of $137.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.28.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.