Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,287 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,732 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the company's stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company's stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $2.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.79. 1,976,447 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,159,368. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $117.93 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The company has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's fifty day moving average is $129.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.57.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.64%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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.