Leavell Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,119 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,778 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,119 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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 transaction 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 represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $133.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $44.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.60. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 64.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen cut shares of 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

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.