Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Purchased by Strong Tower Advisory Services

Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,728 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,033 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 118,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,381,000 after purchasing an additional 15,333 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $814,000. Security National Bank of SO Dak grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 7,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Taylor Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $466,000. Finally, Sunpointe LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.82. 264,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,096,042. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.63 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The firm has a market cap of $47.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.59. 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 (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KMB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.07.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.