Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,608,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KMB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $138.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $134.84 and its 200-day moving average is $136.26. The firm has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $123.84 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

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.