Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Position Boosted by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,509 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew 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 buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its position 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 during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $137.85 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $118.62 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The company has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its 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 net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 64.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on KMB. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut their target price on 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. Citigroup cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.