Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys 25,576 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 37.9% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,076 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,576 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $11,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 29,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $436,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BNP Paribas Exane restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $104.58 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $103.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.07. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52-week low of $96.26 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The company has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.