Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Short Interest Up 13.3% in June

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,110,000 shares, a growth of 13.3% from the May 31st total of 4,510,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.75. 48,230 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,142,727. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $136.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $142.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Bank of America raised Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,562,467.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 45.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 54,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,557,000 after buying an additional 19,555 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 38.9% in the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 10.8% in the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 323,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,035,000 after acquiring an additional 31,355 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.9% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 49,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.