Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 37.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 447,054 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 122,577 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $43,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.43.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $109.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.79. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.42 and a 12-month high of $137.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. The company has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.28.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 80.38%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.