Moors & Cabot Inc. Acquires 10,033 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 45.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,161 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,033 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628,206 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,382,000 after purchasing an additional 997,397 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 331.6% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,107,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,724,000 after purchasing an additional 851,024 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 758,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,490,000 after purchasing an additional 633,061 shares during the period. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $48,807,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of KMB opened at $97.60 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.42 and a 12-month high of $144.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.31.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.