Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC cut its Kimberly-Clark stake by 32% in the fourth quarter, selling 63,230 shares and leaving it with 134,428 shares valued at about $13.6 million.
• Kimberly-Clark reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.97 versus the $1.93 estimate and revenue of $4.16 billion, up 2.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, implying an annualized yield of 5.2%, while analysts on average currently rate the stock a Hold with a $114.93 target price.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,428 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,230 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $13,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $790,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628,206 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company's stock worth $2,615,382,000 after purchasing an additional 997,397 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 331.6% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,107,640 shares of the company's stock worth $137,724,000 after purchasing an additional 851,024 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,406,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $299,268,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 758,154 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,490,000 after purchasing an additional 633,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $99.14 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $97.70 and a 200-day moving average of $101.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a one year low of $92.42 and a one year high of $144.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 80.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

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.

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