Mechanics Bank Trust Department Lowers Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Mechanics Bank Trust Department cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,957 shares of the company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 4,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 7,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Bank of America upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,562,467.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776 over the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.9 %

KMB opened at $138.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $142.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $135.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.