Wedbush Securities Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 36.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,118 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,185 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KMB. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $137.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $137.64 and its 200 day moving average is $135.91. The company has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Kimberly-Clark 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.