MCF Advisors LLC Buys 99 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,718 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 5,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 6,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $897,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 59,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,829,000 after acquiring an additional 8,645 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 109.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 53,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,111,000 after acquiring an additional 27,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $126.47 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.91. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.71.

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.