Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Reduces Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 217,377 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,204 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Kimberly-Clark worth $28,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 1.9 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $132.79 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $117.93 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.64%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.