Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 15.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 225 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Horizons Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 74.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Sandra R. Karrmann sold 5,122 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.80, for a total value of $664,835.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,228 shares in the company, valued at $808,394.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Sandra R. Karrmann sold 5,122 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.80, for a total transaction of $664,835.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $808,394.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 4,423 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.23, for a total transaction of $576,007.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,169 shares in the company, valued at $3,668,448.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. TheStreet cut Kimberly-Clark from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $126.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.33.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of KMB traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $125.32. The company had a trading volume of 122,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,464. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.21. The stock has a market cap of $42.38 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $108.74 and a 1-year high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.13 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.07% and a return on equity of 303.40%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a $1.18 dividend. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.32%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products worldwide. 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.