Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Position Increased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,625 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,301 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the fourth 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. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, July 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $2.61 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $137.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,402,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,189,509. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $138.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The stock has a market cap of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.28, a P/E/G 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 results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,312 shares of company stock worth $6,106,519. Company insiders own 0.62% 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 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.