Stevens Capital Management LP Trims Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Stevens Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 74.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,402 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $137.76 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $123.84 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The company has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.11. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio 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.