Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Purchases New Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 13,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,963,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.14.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $137.75 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $143.26 and its 200 day moving average is $138.67. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.63 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Kimberly-Clark’s 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 dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% 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.