Aviance Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th 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. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target on the stock. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total value of $61,398.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $139.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 216,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,148,118. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $142.20.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

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.