Vision Financial Markets LLC Takes Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20,377.6% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 33,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,428,000 after purchasing an additional 33,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $141.79 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $131.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.52. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $123.02 and a 12-month high of $149.31. The company has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Barclays cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

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.