Van Strum & Towne Inc. Grows Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 182.8% in the 4th quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 579,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,722,000 after purchasing an additional 49,197 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 86.8% during the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 210,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,603,000 after acquiring an additional 97,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mascoma Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 598 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $139.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.50. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.02 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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.