Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Wakefield Asset Management LLLP

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark makes up 1.2% of Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.1% in the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth about $286,000. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 22,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,042,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 10.3% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 3,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KMB. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. 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 corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $140.28 on Friday. 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 $120.53 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.50. The firm has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

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.