HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 13,806 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $4,253,000. Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 10,820 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $1,081,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $1,661,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $141.67 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $133.66 and its 200-day moving average is $126.57. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $141.80. The company has a market capitalization of $47.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total value of $524,431.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total value of $524,431.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.31.

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.