Andrew Drexler Sells 2,500 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $140.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,047,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,136,088. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.49 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current 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. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

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.