Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 80,965 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott increased its Kimberly-Clark stake by 33.7% in the first quarter, buying 80,965 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 321,401 shares worth about $31.0 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: analysts have a consensus Hold rating on KMB, with a consensus price target of $115.43 after several firms trimmed their targets.
• Kimberly-Clark reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $1.97 and revenue of $4.16 billion, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, equal to a 4.7% annualized yield.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 321,401 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 80,965 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.10% of Kimberly-Clark worth $31,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.43.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $109.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.28. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.42 and a 1 year high of $137.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $99.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.84.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.

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