Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Acquired by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 25.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 70,529 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,495 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 18.3% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 over the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $115.43.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB opened at $114.74 on Wednesday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.42 and a 1-year high of $137.46. The stock has a market cap of $38.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.