Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,192,631 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $873,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% during the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total value of $61,398.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on KMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $136.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 819,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,765. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $145.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $128.07 and its 200-day moving average is $123.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $45.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

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.