Fulcrum Equity Management Lowers Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Fulcrum Equity Management cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,708 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,269 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock worth $4,605,079,000 after acquiring an additional 4,603,787 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $582,592,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company's stock worth $280,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,341 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $740,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $127,436,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB traded down $2.34 on Monday, reaching $141.42. The stock had a trading volume of 579,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,173,328. The business's 50-day moving average price is $137.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.38. The company has a market cap of $46.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total transaction of $95,978.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $518,410.90. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.