Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Sells 11,360 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Prosperity Consulting Group LLC cut its Kimberly-Clark stake by 55.7% in the first quarter, selling 11,360 shares and leaving it with 9,046 shares valued at about $873,000.
• Kimberly-Clark’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $1.97 versus the $1.93 estimate and revenue of $4.16 billion, while analysts expect about 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company continues to pay a sizable dividend: Kimberly-Clark declared a quarterly payout of $1.28 per share, equal to a 4.7% annualized yield, though the stock still has a mixed analyst outlook with a consensus rating of Hold.

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 55.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,046 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,360 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KMB. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $116.79.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $108.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.74. The stock has a market cap of $35.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.26. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a one year low of $92.42 and a one 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.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety 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 Profile

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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