Sovran Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 3,817 Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen downgraded 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $2.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $132.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,976,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,233,356. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $117.93 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $129.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.52. The company has a market capitalization of $44.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is 64.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.