Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,279,000 after acquiring an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,559,000 after purchasing an additional 342,790 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,934,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,383,000 after buying an additional 354,501 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 48.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,545,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,539,000 after buying an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 32.1% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,360,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,040,000 after acquiring an additional 330,327 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $132.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.25. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $117.67 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The company has a market capitalization of $44.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.93.

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.