Equitable Trust Co. Sells 300 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $131.44 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $130.22 and a 200 day moving average of $136.73. The firm has a market cap of $43.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released 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 net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

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.