Lbp Am Sa Reduces Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Lbp Am Sa cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 17.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,924 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,768 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $13,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 23.7% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $356,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 73,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,389,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intellectus Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.5% in the third quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $139.79 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $123.02 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $133.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on KMB. TD Cowen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.