Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $131.44 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $130.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.73.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 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 3.83%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was 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 approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.