Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 302 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 17.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,472 shares of the company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $437,420,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after buying an additional 944,920 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,926,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,114,000 after acquiring an additional 370,094 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 277.9% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 472,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,466,000 after acquiring an additional 347,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 32.1% during 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 in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $143.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.13. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on KMB. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark 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.