Plancorp LLC Raises Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Plancorp LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,282 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Plancorp LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 31,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,142,000 after buying an additional 9,767 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,608,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,628,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Finally, Summit Global Investments boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 510.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,649,000 after buying an additional 48,814 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $138.31 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.26. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $123.84 and a 1-year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is 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.