Evanson Asset Management LLC Sells 584 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Evanson Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 584 shares during the period. Evanson Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $96,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,483,000 after buying an additional 34,646 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 292,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,066,000 after purchasing an additional 7,878 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.6 %

KMB stock traded up $2.06 during trading on Thursday, reaching $129.33. The company had a trading volume of 3,204,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,380. The company has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.96 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $122.49 and a 200 day moving average of $121.99.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.