Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 354,631 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,424 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark accounts for about 2.1% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $46,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $130.47 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.15. The stock has a market cap of $43.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $117.67 and a twelve month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 64.64%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on KMB. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

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.