Argent Trust Co Trims Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Argent Trust Co reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 5.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 103.5% in the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 2,968 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. AXS Investments LLC now owns 10,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 2,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Team Hewins LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $453,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $140.10 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The company has a market cap of $47.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $142.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.89.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

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.