Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Sells 292 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. reduced its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,340 shares of the company’s stock after selling 292 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $140.28 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $120.53 and a 12 month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.