First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $1.72 Million Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,321 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after purchasing an additional 13,806 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 10,820 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,253,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,081,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $1,661,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 520 shares in the company, valued at $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $137.52 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $142.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $136.09 and its 200 day moving average is $127.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on KMB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.64.

Kimberly-Clark 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.