Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock Holdings Increased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,343 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,820 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $136.09 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $127.48 and its 200 day moving average is $123.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The firm has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $146.15.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released 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. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 EPS 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 given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KMB. Citigroup raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total value of $866,420.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,562,467.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345. 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.