Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,943 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $139.05 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.02 and a fifty-two week high of $150.45. The firm has a market cap of $46.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $134.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on KMB. Citigroup decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.