Avestar Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,953 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,409,000 after buying an additional 21,339 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at $14,751,000. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 166,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,392 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% during the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at $36,608,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $139.20 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $138.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.93.

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.