Ethic Inc. Increases Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,101 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 989.5% in the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 176.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $120.21 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.93. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $118.18 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $149.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $118.00 to $113.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.00.

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.