Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 16,848 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 802,391 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,848 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.24% of Kimberly-Clark worth $97,499,000 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 the stock. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.43.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE KMB traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,296,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,605. 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 one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $147.87. The company has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day moving average is $123.91 and its 200-day moving average is $122.23.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase 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 3.90%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.85%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm's 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 owns 17,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.