LRI Investments LLC Invests $154,000 in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $154,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

KMB stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $141.81. 2,064,513 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,201,267. The stock has a market cap of $47.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $145.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.23.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total value of $866,420.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,562,467.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark 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 completion of the sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 51,462 shares of company stock valued at $7,206,653 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.