Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Raises Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,666 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,500,000 after buying an additional 13,806 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 10,820 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,253,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,081,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,661,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $138.02. 733,373 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,151,467. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $135.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $142.20. The company has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total transaction of $524,431.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by 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.