Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 630 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,465,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,180,000 after buying an additional 108,050 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after buying an additional 641,187 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,345,000 after acquiring an additional 212,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $601,394,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,568 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark 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 value of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. 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 note on Thursday, January 18th. Evercore ISI raised Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given 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 Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $125.45 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $123.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.20. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its 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 analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 93.85%.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.