Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 6,548 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 292,648 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,548 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Kimberly-Clark worth $35,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KMB. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 384,310 shares of the company's stock worth $46,786,000 after purchasing an additional 22,779 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Advisor OS LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $302,000. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 46,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 2,286 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $134.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,166,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,180,605. The stock has a market cap of $45.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $145.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $129.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.20.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Kimberly-Clark's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $134.85.

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.

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