Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 66,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,322 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $8,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 572,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,450,000 after purchasing an additional 17,919 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 9,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 12,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,832,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 141,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,164,000 after acquiring an additional 3,514 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 47,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $143.07 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The stock has a market cap of $47.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.