Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Insider Jeffrey P. Melucci Sells 37,699 Shares

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $141.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,951,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,163,583. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $137.66 and its 200 day moving average is $130.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $145.62.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.