Palisade Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Palisade Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,003 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,030 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $135.93. 1,603,247 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,214,151. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $128.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $145.67. The firm has a market cap of $45.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 related news, insider Doug Cunningham sold 1,040 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.86, for a total transaction of $142,334.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $524,584.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345 in the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.