Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC reduced its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,707 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,342 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $9,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 6,016 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,409,000 after buying an additional 21,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $129.93 on Monday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.20.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.52 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 issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 64.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.