Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 447 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $1,317,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $419,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 35,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,700,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 159,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,864,000 after acquiring an additional 9,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 59,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.1 %

KMB opened at $140.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company’s 50 day moving average is $136.12 and its 200-day moving average is $136.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $123.84 and a 1-year high of $150.45.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.85.

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.