Meritage Portfolio Management Trims Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Meritage Portfolio Management lowered its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,287 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE KMB opened at $129.29 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $130.82 and its 200 day moving average is $136.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.41. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on KMB. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.