Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 550 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark makes up about 1.5% of Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $437,420,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,279,000 after purchasing an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,926,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,114,000 after purchasing an additional 370,094 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 277.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 472,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,466,000 after buying an additional 347,778 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 779,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,793,000 after buying an additional 318,680 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. 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 report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.4 %

KMB traded down $0.60 on Tuesday, reaching $143.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,265,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,574. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $145.68. The business’s 50 day moving average is $140.49 and its 200 day moving average is $133.20. The stock has a market cap of $48.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37.

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 business had revenue of $5.03 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

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.