Heritage Trust Co Makes New Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $732,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:KMB traded up $3.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $143.02. 786,396 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,138,886. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.75. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $47.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $146.31.

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.