Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 32,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 670 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

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

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $129.67 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.41. 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. The company has a market cap of $43.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

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.