Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by S.A. Mason LLC

S.A. Mason LLC decreased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,820 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. S.A. Mason LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Investments LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $4,253,000. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 240,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,103,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $1,661,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% in the fourth 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.36.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, 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 Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $127.27 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.95.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced 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 firm 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 was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued 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 is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 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.