Telos Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,065 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 765 shares during the period. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sfmg LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 12,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 5,604 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $625,000. Signet Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,637,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $594,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $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 purchased 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $125.96 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $124.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.26. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock 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, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.