First Bancorp Inc ME Increases Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,897 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 4,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Security National Bank of SO Dak grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 7,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $139.29. 1,191,095 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,146,075. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $142.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total value of $61,398.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 520 shares in the company, valued at $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total value of $61,398.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 520 shares in the company, valued at $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total value of $524,431.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.64.

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.