Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Marino Stram & Associates LLC

Marino Stram & Associates LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 368 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 4,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $594,000. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 14,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 9,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 12,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE KMB traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $125.59. The company had a trading volume of 680,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,089,181. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $123.84 and its 200 day moving average is $122.20. 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 fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The company has a market capitalization of $42.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 note on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.43.

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.