Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Purchased by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,906 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 2.1 %

KMB stock opened at $142.68 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $139.52 and its 200 day moving average is $135.75. The firm has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 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, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.31.

Kimberly-Clark 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.