SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 43.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 157,398 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Kimberly-Clark worth $20,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KMB. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687 over the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.43.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $106.69 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.42 and a 12-month high of $137.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.70. The stock has a market cap of $35.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.28.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.