Clarius Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Clarius Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $142.25 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.79. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.63 and a 1-year high of $149.30. 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 PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on KMB shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.14.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.