Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Cuts Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,943 shares of the company’s stock after selling 681 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 15.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 33,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,759,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 9.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 51,217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,294,000 after acquiring an additional 4,229 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 7,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 25.3% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $2,840,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB opened at $139.05 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.02 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The stock has a market cap of $46.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average is $134.56 and its 200-day moving average is $136.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.