Aries Wealth Management Increases Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Aries Wealth Management increased its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 12.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,062 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Aries Wealth Management’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $435,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 2,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $130.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $136.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.25. The company has a market cap of $43.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 68.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.