Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Acquired by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 89.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,673 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 9,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 2,960 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 5,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $258,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 11,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 37,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,620,000 after acquiring an additional 11,758 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on KMB. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday. Evercore reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $120.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NASDAQ:KMB opened at $109.90 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.40. The stock has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a one year low of $96.26 and a one year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its 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 business had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 83.03%.

Kimberly-Clark 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.