Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 153 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 123,302.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,430,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $601,394,000 after buying an additional 4,426,568 shares during the last quarter. Cowa LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at $54,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $441,478,000. Imprint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 13,781.2% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,763,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,361,000 after buying an additional 2,743,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,189,000 after buying an additional 1,046,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of KMB opened at $125.28 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $123.91 and a 200-day moving average of $122.23.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.43.

Kimberly-Clark 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.