Trust Co. of Vermont Decreases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Trust Co. of Vermont lowered its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 17.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,869 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,868 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth about $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $145.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.30. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.63 and a 12 month high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.