Advisors Preferred LLC Increases Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Advisors Preferred LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 2,164.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 74,327 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 71,044 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark accounts for about 1.4% of Advisors Preferred LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $10,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 329.6% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,997 shares in the company, valued at $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $127.75. 1,550,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,294,750. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a market cap of $42.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $133.38 and its 200-day moving average is $134.51.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 68.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $134.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.50.

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.