Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by Searle & CO.

Searle & CO. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,577 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Searle & CO.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Emerald Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Motco boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.9% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. S&CO Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 24,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,010,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 1,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.86, for a total value of $142,334.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $524,584.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,062 shares of company stock worth $2,466,270. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $136.47. 2,104,872 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,236,810. The firm has a market cap of $45.95 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $147.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.14.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.85.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.