Essex Financial Services Inc. has a $777,000 stock position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB – Free Report) by 42.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,573 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the quarter. Holdings of Essex Financial Services Inc. in Kimberly-Clark were worth $777,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $399,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,092,000 after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,014,000 after buying an additional 1,820 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s shares.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

A number of research firms recently commented on KMB. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.67, according to MarketBeat .

Check out the latest stock report on Kimberly-Clark

Insider buying and selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available via this link. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s shares.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $144.66 on Monday. Kimberly-Clark Co. it has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $145.68. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $140.70, and its two-hundred-day moving average price is $133.72. The firm has a market cap of $48.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB – Get Your Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. In the same period last year, the firm earned $1.65 per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark announces dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents an annualized dividend of $4.88 and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

(Free report)

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care products and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Fabrics and KC Professional. The company’s personal care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, baby wipes, feminine care and incontinence products, reusable underwear and other related products under Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex , U de Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex and other brands.

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