First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 449 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 449 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,345,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,051,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,650,000 after purchasing an additional 155,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,434,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,068,000 after buying an additional 148,076 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,891.99. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $136.09 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’s 50-day moving average is $127.19 and its 200-day moving average is $123.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $146.15.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC upped their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.85.

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.