Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Hendershot Investments Inc.

Hendershot Investments Inc. trimmed its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,198 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,409,000 after purchasing an additional 21,339 shares during the period. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.2 %

KMB stock opened at $130.29 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.84. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $117.67 and a 52-week high of $149.30. 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 market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 64.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KMB. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.