Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 555 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Emerald Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Motco lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 6.9% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. S&CO Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.4% in the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 24,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,010,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.3% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KMB. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.85.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were 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 owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total value of $61,398.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345 in the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $135.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $145.67.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

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.