Griffin Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 3,700 Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 13,806 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 10,820 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $4,253,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $1,081,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,661,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $138.20 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $142.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.86 and a 200-day moving average of $127.53. The firm has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KMB. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.64.

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.