Banco Santander S.A. Sells 20,396 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 123,312 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,396 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $16,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB opened at $144.86 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $123.02 and a one year high of $149.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.