Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 19,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $143.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $136.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.92. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $123.84 and a 52 week high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on KMB. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.85.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is 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.