Willis Investment Counsel Raises Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 197,140 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,900 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $24,512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 13.2% during the second quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 4,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $222,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 16,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,082,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbus Macro LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Columbus Macro LLC now owns 53,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,950,000 after buying an additional 2,720 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays set a $102.00 price objective on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $118.58.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of KMB opened at $104.53 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1-year low of $96.26 and a 1-year high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.74. The stock has a market cap of $34.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The company had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 83.03%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.