Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $142.46. 1,517,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,184,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $145.62. The firm has a market cap of $47.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $139.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.78.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released 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 firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Kimberly-Clark 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.