HTLF Bank Invests $332,000 in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

HTLF Bank bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.8% during the third quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% in the first quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 4,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

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

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $126.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $147.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $124.26 and a 200-day moving average of $122.33. The company has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business 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 a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.