Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 2,616 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lessened its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,616 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Motco grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S&CO Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 24,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 5.5 %

NYSE KMB traded up $7.05 on Tuesday, reaching $135.98. 5,773,469 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,205,946. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $124.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.43. The company has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 93.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KMB. HSBC lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.85.

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.