Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock Holdings Boosted by SPC Financial Inc.

SPC Financial Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,276 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% during the 4th 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 period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth $14,751,000. Swedbank AB increased its holdings 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 period. Finally, PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% during 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. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $142.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $47.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s 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 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.