Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Hartford Financial Management Inc.

Hartford Financial Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,030 shares of the company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. UBS Group raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $130.78 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $117.67 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The company has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 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%. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.52 earnings per share 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. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 64.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.