Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Sells 2,247 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lowered its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 32.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,247 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 728,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,492,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 4,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. PUREfi Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 117.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 644.1% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 185,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,264,000 after buying an additional 160,279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $132.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $129.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.53. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.93 and a 12-month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 64.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KMB. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

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.