MML Investors Services LLC Sells 12,121 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

MML Investors Services LLC reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 20.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,727 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,121 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $0.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.34. 1,621,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,113,666. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.31. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $117.67 and a 52-week high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.