Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Lowers Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,004 shares of the company’s stock after selling 582 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connors Investor Services Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 4,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of Kimberly-Clark 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.3 %

KMB opened at $125.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $42.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $147.87. The business’s fifty day moving average is $123.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.20.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Three 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.43.

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.