Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 28.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,222 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $126.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $124.26 and its 200-day moving average price 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 market cap of $42.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

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.