Crews Bank & Trust Takes Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 47,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,575,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $248,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 53.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 63,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,784,000 after purchasing an additional 22,272 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,513,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $130.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $117.67 and a twelve month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its 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 net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 64.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on KMB shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.