FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Trims Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH decreased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 12.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,474 shares of the company’s stock after selling 615 shares during the quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after acquiring an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,345,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $437,420,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,530,000 after purchasing an additional 524,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,926,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,114,000 after buying an additional 370,094 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776 in the last ninety days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.64.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $137.92. 402,865 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,148,843. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $135.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.56. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $142.20. The company has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

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.