IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Sells 319 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd reduced its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 10.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 319 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 10,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.7 %

KMB stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Friday, reaching $144.16. 624,645 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,131,881. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $145.68. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.27. The company has a market capitalization of $48.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on KMB. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

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.