Virtu Financial LLC Decreases Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 16.5% in Q1, selling 2,022 shares for a total value of $1,458,000.
• Analysts provide mixed ratings for Kimberly-Clark, with a recent consensus of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.70.
• Kimberly-Clark declared a quarterly dividend of $1.26 per share, representing a 3.7% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 69.42%.

Virtu Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 16.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,252 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,022 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth about $37,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of KMB stock traded down $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $133.39. 1,516,737 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,332,659. 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 stock has a market cap of $44.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $130.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.01. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 69.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.