Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $140.85, but opened at $137.23. Kimberly-Clark shares last traded at $137.32, with a volume of 501,152 shares traded.

Specifically, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Doug Cunningham sold 1,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.86, for a total transaction of $142,334.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $524,584.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,852 shares of company stock worth $6,590,928. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. Bank of America raised Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 2.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $46.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 35,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,967,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% in the second quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 42,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,824,000 after buying an additional 1,436 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 32,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,012,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.