Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Boosts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Key Points

• Cary Street Partners Financial LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 52.9% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to $6.86 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their stakes in Kimberly-Clark, with a total of 76.29% of the company's stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Kimberly-Clark recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.92 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26 per share set to be paid on October 2nd.

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 52.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,248 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,702 shares during the quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth $37,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 737.1% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE KMB traded down $0.61 on Friday, reaching $136.16. 1,653,983 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,334,250. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $130.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.86. The company has a market cap of $45.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.70.

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.