Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Keene & Associates Inc.

Keene & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,761 shares of the company’s stock after selling 281 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark accounts for about 2.8% of Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Keene & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 454,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,738,000 after acquiring an additional 69,794 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 10,820 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $1,081,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,094,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,994,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target on the stock. 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 report on Friday, July 19th. Argus raised Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $143.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.53.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

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.