Ieq Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 23.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 19,212 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,669 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 454,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,738,000 after purchasing an additional 69,794 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 10,820 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $1,094,000. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,994,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $14,751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

KMB stock opened at $140.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.10. The stock has a market cap of $47.39 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released 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 company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KMB. Barclays cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.