Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 174,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,416 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $17,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 399,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,690,000 after purchasing an additional 14,386 shares during the period. Jain Global LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth $11,973,000. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 54,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,462,000 after purchasing an additional 10,811 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,774,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,258,000 after purchasing an additional 334,598 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 37.9% in the third quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,573,000 after purchasing an additional 25,576 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $102.29 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.42 and a 1 year high of $137.46. The company has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.79 and a 200-day moving average of $100.96.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.