Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Sells 217 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lowered its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,074 shares of the company’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $132.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $129.84 and its 200 day moving average is $136.51. The stock has a market cap of $44.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $117.93 and a 1-year high of $149.30. 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 (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

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.