Diversified Trust Co Acquires 195 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,648 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $9,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This 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. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE KMB traded up $0.92 on Tuesday, reaching $127.04. The company had a trading volume of 287,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,404,082. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $117.67 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $133.76 and its 200-day moving average is $138.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The stock has a market cap of $42.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.71.

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.