Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

by · The Markets Daily

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB – Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $903,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $582,592,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,824 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,436,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,113,444,000 after purchasing an additional 797,953 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.6 %

KMB stock opened at $145.16 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $123.84 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The company has a market cap of $48.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.03.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.85.

Read Our Latest Report on KMB

Kimberly-Clark Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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