Empirical Finance LLC Cuts Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. 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 research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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 cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $130.29 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $130.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The firm has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 64.64%.

Kimberly-Clark 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.