Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Position Reduced by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $5,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its stake in 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 valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake 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 buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 7,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total value of $866,420.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,562,467.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,562,467.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $137.99 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $46.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.68. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $142.20.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.