Strong Tower Advisory Services Boosts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,100 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 440 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,253,000. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 240,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,103,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,661,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,740,000 after purchasing an additional 368,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.27.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $129.33 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $122.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.99. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $147.87. The firm has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 93.85%.

Insider Activity

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

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.