Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.36.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.9 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $127.27 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.85%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.