Creative Planning Buys 4,661 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 74,204 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,661 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $10,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $142.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $47.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.96.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 dividend yield of 3.43%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KMB. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.