Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $1.64 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,401 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. HSBC boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $125.35. The company had a trading volume of 535,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,091,983. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $124.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.26. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 93.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark 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.