Bleakley Financial Group LLC Buys 10,808 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 39.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,158 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,808 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. The trade was 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.3%

KMB stock opened at $106.53 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.80 and a 200-day moving average of $101.63. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.42 and a fifty-two week high of $137.46. The company has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

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.