Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group Sells 1,073 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group decreased its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,073 shares during the quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 454,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,738,000 after buying an additional 69,794 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth approximately $14,751,000. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 166,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,882 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $142.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.96.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was 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. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.