Zhang Financial LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Zhang Financial LLC lessened its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,797 shares of the company’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $332,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 8,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 1,653 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $143.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $145.62.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

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.