Empowered Funds LLC Sells 5,732 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,732 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 43,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,883,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 121,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 415,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,457,000 after acquiring an additional 68,306 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $131.44 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.22 and its 200 day moving average is $136.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 64.64%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on KMB. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

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.