Ascent Group LLC Has $915,000 Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 17.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,075 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $915,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the first quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 10,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% in the first quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 4,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 46,852 shares of company stock worth $6,590,928. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB traded down $4.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.46. 1,138,586 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,166,766. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $145.62.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

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.