Martingale Asset Management L P Reduces Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,920 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $28,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $139.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $138.52 and a 200 day moving average of $139.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $117.67 and a one year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.