GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 6,710 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 64.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,173 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,710 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE KMB opened at $130.63 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $43.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $134.06 and a 200 day moving average of $138.98.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.