Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Equitable Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 66.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,742 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,573 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chapin Davis Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 2,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,818 shares of the company's stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company's stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of KMB stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $126.08. 1,343,635 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,108,284. The stock's 50 day moving average is $123.31 and its 200-day moving average is $122.08. The company has a market cap of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. Kimberly-Clark's quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 93.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America cut Kimberly-Clark from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.86.

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.