2,730 Shares in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Purchased by HTLF Bank

HTLF Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $332,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,498 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 12,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after buying an additional 5,604 shares during the period. Finally, Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $625,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $126.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.33. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.85%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the company’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired 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 approximately $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.85.

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.