Sentry Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,774 shares of the company’s stock after selling 191 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,500,000 after buying an additional 13,806 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,253,000. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 240,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,103,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,661,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.43.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $125.28 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The company has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued 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 business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.85%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.