Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 722,613 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,010 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.21% of Kimberly-Clark worth $99,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after buying an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $437,420,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,559,000 after buying an additional 342,790 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,093,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,487,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,451,000 after buying an additional 132,576 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $142.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $142.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

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.