Quent Capital LLC Acquires 486 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 84.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,064 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 75,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,692,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 171,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,350,000 after purchasing an additional 5,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

KMB stock opened at $133.87 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $117.67 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $129.99 and its 200-day moving average is $136.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.64%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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, TD Cowen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.