Tortoise Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $99,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark 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 transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $147.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $123.02 and a 52-week high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted 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 net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 3.42%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. Citigroup decreased 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. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.