Whitener Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Whitener Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,509 shares of the company’s stock after selling 261 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Horizons Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at about $39,000. 74.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 4,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.23, for a total value of $576,007.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,169 shares in the company, valued at $3,668,448.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 4,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.23, for a total transaction of $576,007.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,668,448.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sandra R. Karrmann sold 5,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.80, for a total value of $664,835.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $808,394.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KMB. Citigroup lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $135.33.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.8 %

Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $124.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 363,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,492. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $108.74 and a 1 year high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.88.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.17. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 303.40% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $1.18 dividend. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 97.32%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products worldwide. 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.