Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 771,881 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,961 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.23% of Kimberly-Clark worth $93,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,562,467.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,562,467.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,562 shares of company stock worth $2,808,345. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $136.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $45.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $127.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.33. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $146.15.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.85.

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.