Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Whitener Capital Management Inc.

Whitener Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Whitener Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 3,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,728,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 56,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $332,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KMB. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $151.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $175.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.71.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $127.33 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $132.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.