Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 294 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 294 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.8 %

KMB opened at $140.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $131.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $120.53 and a 1-year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

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.