Welch Group LLC Increases Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 351,207 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark comprises 2.2% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned 0.10% of Kimberly-Clark worth $49,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth $230,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 850 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 21,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 32,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,193,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE KMB traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $135.95. The company had a trading volume of 119,984 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,312. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $117.46 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The company has a market capitalization of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.94 and its 200 day moving average is $138.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

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.