Pitcairn Co. Sells 143 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,876 shares of the company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $137.76 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $137.64 and its 200-day moving average is $135.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $123.84 and a 1 year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were 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 was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of 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 objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.