Insider Selling: Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Insider Sells 37,699 Shares of Stock

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

KMB opened at $141.81 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $130.28. The company has a market capitalization of $47.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $145.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.