Rhumbline Advisers Sells 16,630 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 2.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 740,387 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,630 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $92,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.2% in the second quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.58.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:KMB opened at $108.26 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $96.26 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $101.32 and its 200-day moving average is $113.99. The firm has a market cap of $35.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 170.48%. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.03%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.