Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 279 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,744 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $140.28 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.10 and a 200-day moving average of $136.50. The company has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $120.53 and a one year 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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.