Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Purchased by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 61.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,311 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,302 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at $96,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 22.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,483,000 after purchasing an additional 34,646 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 292,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,066,000 after buying an additional 7,878 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 23.9% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 28.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 4,503 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $126.83 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $147.87. 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 data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 93.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

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.