Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,768,354 shares of the company’s stock after selling 105,214 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.71% of Kimberly-Clark worth $797,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 454,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,738,000 after buying an additional 69,794 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 10,820 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,081,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,094,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,994,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.8 %

KMB stock opened at $143.52 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $149.30. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $142.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.53. 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 issued its 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. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

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.