Essex Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 89.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,673 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.2% in the second quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on KMB. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore reiterated an “in-line” rating and set a $120.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $109.90 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $96.26 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $101.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark 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.