Monte Financial Group LLC Raises Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Monte Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,718 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KMB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after purchasing an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,559,000 after purchasing an additional 342,790 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,934,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,383,000 after buying an additional 354,501 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,093,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 48.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,545,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,539,000 after acquiring an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

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 shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $136.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.18 and a 200-day moving average of $138.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.63 and a 52 week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on KMB. TD Cowen started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

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.