&Partners Makes New Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

&Partners bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,080,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $143.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $145.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $140.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.70.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.