AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 4,177 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 900.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,641 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $144.02 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $132.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.48. 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 company has a market cap of $47.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $123.02 and a 52-week high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

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.