Todd Maclin Acquires 266 Shares of Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) Stock

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Director Todd Maclin purchased 266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $145.77 per share, with a total value of $38,774.82. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,848. The trade was a 12.46% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.1%

KMB stock opened at $104.33 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $101.33 and its 200 day moving average is $114.49. The stock has a market cap of $34.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1-year low of $96.26 and a 1-year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 170.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation 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 Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,846,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,121,027,000 after purchasing an additional 315,981 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,382,000 after buying an additional 997,397 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,482,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,344,000 after buying an additional 218,644 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,254,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,423,000 after buying an additional 363,865 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628,206 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays set a $102.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.58.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.