Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases 1,850 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,480 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 333.3% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $49,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $143.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Kimberly-Clark 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.