Foster & Motley Inc. Has $518,000 Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Foster & Motley Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,750 shares of the company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CX Institutional raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 10,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% in the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,253,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% during the first quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $146.99 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $141.51 and its 200 day moving average is $134.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America raised Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

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.