Sigma Planning Corp Sells 9,760 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 51.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,760 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KMB. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,155 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after buying an additional 641,187 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,530,000 after buying an additional 524,632 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 552.4% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 456,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,163,000 after buying an additional 386,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,740,000 after buying an additional 368,505 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE KMB opened at $128.89 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $124.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.43. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.85%.

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.