Intech Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Intech Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 16.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 63,248 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,366 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $8,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark 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 completion of 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was 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 owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $140.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.01.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.