Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 1,322 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,482 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,322 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $8,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on KMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $143.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.97. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $123.84 and a 1-year high of $150.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

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.