American Trust Sells 1,960 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

American Trust lessened its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 52.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,811 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,960 shares during the period. American Trust's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock worth $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,589,967 shares of the company's stock worth $1,387,709,000 after acquiring an additional 529,223 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,113,444,000 after purchasing an additional 797,953 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,529,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $986,616,000 after purchasing an additional 417,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company's stock worth $740,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $143.79. 1,716,174 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,182,702. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $124.10 and a 1 year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 68.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total transaction of $95,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,372 shares of company stock worth $1,858,684. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $145.08.

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.