Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $70.25 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 508,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,719 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $70,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.4% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth about $209,000. Ieq Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 23.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 19,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after purchasing an additional 3,669 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 16.4% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 305.0% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 11,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,634,000 after buying an additional 8,903 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target on the stock. Two equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $140.10 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $142.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

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.