Andrew Drexler Sells 2,500 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $141.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $120.49 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.74 and a 200-day moving average of $136.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.