Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. cut its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 47.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,568 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,441 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Monarch Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 4,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.1% in the third quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.8% during the third quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays set a $102.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $99.45 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $96.26 and a 1 year high of $147.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.72. The firm has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.24.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 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 Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.35%.

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.