Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 3.0%, acquiring an additional 7,212 shares, bringing its total ownership to 249,927 shares valued at approximately $35.5 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Kimberly-Clark, with JPMorgan upgrading the stock from "underweight" to "neutral" and raising the price target to $138, while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from "buy" to "hold."
• Kimberly-Clark recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $5.04 and a yield of 3.8%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 249,927 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,212 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Kimberly-Clark worth $35,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 329.6% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of KMB stock traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $136.16. 1,653,983 shares of the company's 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 market cap of $45.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company's 50-day moving average price is $130.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.86.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. UBS Group reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.