Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $26,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% during the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $129.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,204,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,380. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $122.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.95. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The stock has a market cap of $43.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.27.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.