Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Buys 287,660 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 502.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 344,908 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 287,660 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark comprises about 2.5% of Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $33,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 over the last quarter. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.8%

KMB opened at $108.88 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $103.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.90. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.42 and a twelve month high of $137.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.