Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock Holdings Decreased by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,377 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% during the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the business’s 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $126.11 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $123.71 and a 200-day moving average of $122.18. The firm has a market cap of $42.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $147.87. 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 issued 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 return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays lowered 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.86.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.