Empire Financial Management Company LLC Boosts Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Empire Financial Management Company LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 253.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,523 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,694 shares during the period. Empire Financial Management Company LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,267,000 after acquiring an additional 273,813 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20,377.6% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 33,788 shares of the company's stock worth $4,428,000 after acquiring an additional 33,623 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock traded down $0.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $131.58. 2,626,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,128,574. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. Research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.