Morton Community Bank Boosts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Morton Community Bank grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,791 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,855,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 9,321 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,221,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.7 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $144.86 on Monday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $123.02 and a 1-year high of $149.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $132.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.46.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

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.