Accredited Investors Inc. Reduces Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Accredited Investors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,830 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $137.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $123.84 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.73. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

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.