Abbot Financial Management Inc. Sells 250 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Abbot Financial Management Inc. lowered its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,801 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Abbot Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 333.3% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $144.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $48.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $142.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.69.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KMB. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Argus raised Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.