Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Cuts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. decreased its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 27.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,409,000 after buying an additional 21,339 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20,377.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 33,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,428,000 after buying an additional 33,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $127.33 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on KMB. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $175.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.71.

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.