Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Stake Decreased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 554,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,054,812 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.17% of Kimberly-Clark worth $68,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.6% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Monarch Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the second quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 1,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.1%

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $101.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.24. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $96.26 and a 1 year high of $147.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $103.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KMB. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, December 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.