Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Ballast Inc.

Ballast Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Ballast Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 29,102,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,017,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,312,765 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,090,000 after buying an additional 177,712 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,465,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,180,000 after buying an additional 108,050 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after acquiring an additional 641,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,345,000 after acquiring an additional 212,739 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE KMB opened at $129.33 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.49 and its 200 day moving average is $121.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.27.

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.