First Bancorp Inc ME Acquires 140 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

First Bancorp Inc ME lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,897 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 45.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 122.5% during the third quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 10.2% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 16,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, MQS Management LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 33.0% during the third quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 3,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total value of $524,431.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total transaction of $524,431.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.29. 1,191,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,146,075. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $135.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.21. The stock has a market cap of $46.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $142.20. 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

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.