Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,773 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,557,000 after buying an additional 1,277 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 43,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,689,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828 shares during the period. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 121,828 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $130.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $130.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.75.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. 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 yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.64%.

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.