Sigma Planning Corp Sells 9,760 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sigma Planning Corp lessened its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 51.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,760 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,090,000 after acquiring an additional 177,712 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after acquiring an additional 641,187 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,345,000 after acquiring an additional 212,739 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,051,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,650,000 after acquiring an additional 155,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,434,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,068,000 after acquiring an additional 148,076 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.6 %

KMB stock opened at $128.89 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $124.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.43. 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 capitalization of $43.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on KMB shares. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.85.

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.