Prospera Financial Services Inc Grows Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,209 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $32,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $36,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $138.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $117.67 and a 12 month high of $149.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.13.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.