Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,581 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of KMB opened at $144.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $123.02 and a 12-month high of $149.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 insiders.

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.