Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Insider Sells $5,331,392.58 in Stock

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $141.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $145.62. The company has a market cap of $47.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.81 and a 200-day moving average of $130.28.

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. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

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.