Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 22,796 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 789,853 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,796 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Kimberly-Clark worth $76,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.14.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 2.3%

KMB traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.41. 3,342,307 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,534,243. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $102.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.47. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.42 and a 1-year high of $137.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 80.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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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