Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 46.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,017 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,717 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total transaction of $95,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $0.97 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $127.96. 3,087,751 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,181,178. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $124.10 and a 1-year high of $150.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $136.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 68.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.73.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.