Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Short Interest Update

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,110,000 shares, an increase of 13.3% from the May 31st total of 4,510,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.75. The stock had a trading volume of 48,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,142,727. The company has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $136.04 and its 200 day moving average is $127.68. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $142.20.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 1,040 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.86, for a total transaction of $142,334.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $524,584.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776 over the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 45.3% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 56.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 54,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,557,000 after purchasing an additional 19,555 shares during the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 38.9% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10.8% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 323,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,035,000 after buying an additional 31,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 49,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,014,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% 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.