Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $130.78 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.36. The stock has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $117.67 and a 52 week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.52 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.64%.

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.