Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 29.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 329,700 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,582 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $31,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $109.70 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $104.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a one year low of $92.42 and a one year high of $137.46.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KMB. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.93.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.