Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $467,000 Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,291 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% during the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $136.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $127.19 and its 200 day moving average is $123.33. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $146.15. The stock has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,562,467.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.