Sunbelt Securities Inc. Has $2.18 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,398 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 225 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on KMB. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.33.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $124.89 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.88. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $108.74 and a 52-week high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.21, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $42.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.39.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.17. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 303.40% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $4.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.32%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 4,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.23, for a total transaction of $576,007.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,668,448.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 4,423 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.23, for a total transaction of $576,007.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 28,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,668,448.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sandra R. Karrmann sold 5,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.80, for a total transaction of $664,835.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $808,394.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.67% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products worldwide. 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.