Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) VP Andrew Drexler Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $136.55 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $147.02. The stock has a market cap of $45.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $127.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.33.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $437,420,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,189,000 after buying an additional 1,046,155 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 641,187 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,530,000 after acquiring an additional 524,632 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 552.4% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 456,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,163,000 after acquiring an additional 386,497 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.