Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Sells 9,346 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 57.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,346 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 284.8% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 9,374 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 650.0% during the fourth quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 31,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,828,000 after purchasing an additional 27,300 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 311,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,816,000 after purchasing an additional 22,485 shares during the period. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on KMB. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $128.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.43. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $147.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 93.85%.

Insider Activity

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