Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KMB. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $212,000. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 416,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,248,000 after purchasing an additional 24,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1,153.8% in the third quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $144.86 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.02 and a 12 month high of $149.31. The stock has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

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.