Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stake Lessened by Violich Capital Management Inc.

Violich Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,625 shares during the quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company's stock worth $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company's stock worth $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company's stock worth $49,409,000 after purchasing an additional 21,339 shares during the period. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of KMB stock traded down $2.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $132.79. 1,976,447 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,159,368. The firm has a market cap of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.93 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $129.88 and a 200 day moving average of $136.57.

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%. Analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark 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.