State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in Kimberly‑Clark by 24.8% in Q4, selling 13,978 shares and leaving 42,454 shares worth about $4.28 million.
• Kimberly‑Clark beat Q4 EPS estimates at $1.86 versus $1.81 but missed revenue slightly; the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.28 (annualized $5.12) for a yield of 5.3%.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed with an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $114.86, while institutional investors own about 76.29% of the stock.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,454 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,978 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 211 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Research Corp purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KMB opened at $96.81 on Thursday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $102.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.42 and a 12 month high of $144.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Kimberly-Clark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.86.

About Kimberly-Clark

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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