Pollock Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Pollock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 23.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 40.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 54,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,686,000 after acquiring an additional 15,482 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 68.4% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 43,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 17,749 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Citigroup reduced 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 note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.2 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $139.79 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.02 and a twelve month high of $150.45. 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 50 day moving average of $133.53 and a 200-day moving average of $136.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.