Argyle Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 31.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,575 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KMB. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark 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 value of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $1.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.24. 2,123,919 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,437,404. The firm has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $147.09. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.92.

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

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.