Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Lowers Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,616 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,155 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,530,000 after purchasing an additional 524,632 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 552.4% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 456,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,163,000 after purchasing an additional 386,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,740,000 after purchasing an additional 368,505 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB traded up $7.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $135.98. The company had a trading volume of 5,773,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,946. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.43. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, HSBC increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

Insider Activity

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

About Kimberly-Clark

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.