Wells Fargo & Company MN Reduces Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,957,390 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,774 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $256,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Silver Lake Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Silver Lake Advisory LLC now owns 11,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $137.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.95. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $123.84 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.85.

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.