First Command Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. decreased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB opened at $139.20 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $130.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $120.49 and a twelve month high of $149.30.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KMB. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Barclays reduced 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 cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of 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, 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 research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.