Traynor Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 21.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,888 shares of the company’s stock after selling 767 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $437,420,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,530,000 after purchasing an additional 524,632 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,926,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,114,000 after purchasing an additional 370,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,740,000 after acquiring an additional 368,505 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total value of $61,398.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 520 shares in the company, valued at $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,324.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $139.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $142.20.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on KMB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.64.

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.