Kimberly-Clark's (KMB) shares, first discussed here on June 22, 2009, at a price of $51.06, continue to cycle in a $61 to $67 range. Hence, if you haven't already, now may be good time consider taking some profits, if you're in near $51.

However, other investors who tolerate the risk and maintain their full position in KMB, but keep in mind the stock gains from here will likely be tough to achieve in 2011. Also, if you're looking for a decent dividend, it's worth it to retain KMB, given its $2.80 annual dividend, good for a 4.4% yield at the current share price.

"When it comes to longevity, it's hard to beat the Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB); this US paper and healthcare product manufacturer was founded in 1872," says income expert Amy Calistri.

The editor of The Daily Paycheck explains, "While we tend to think of as a staid and steady company, Kimberly-Clark has a long history of innovation, supporting a lifetime of earnings and dividend growth.

"Kimberly-Clark was the first company to put toilet tissue on a roll. It invented the 'disposable handkerchief' -- or what we know as the iconic Kleenex.

Kimberly-Clark (KMB), a consumer products company that counts Procter & Gamble (PG) as a colleague, is a very interesting stock for two reasons. First, it's not too far away from its 52-week high. Second, it's trading with an extremely nice dividend yield attached. Those two elements can't help but make an investor take notice.

In fact, speaking about the dividend yield, according to the company's Q4 earnings results, management has increased the quarterly payout by 6% to 70 cents per share. Excellent news. Based on Tuesday's closing price of $65.61, a quote that found the stock up by 2.6% on significant volume, the yield on the shares is now roughly 4.3%.

The shares of Kimberly-Clark (KMB), first discussed here on June 22, 2009 at a price of $51.06, have pulled back to about $64 after testing levels above $67 in late 2010, and now may be good time to consider taking some profits, if you're in at/near $51.

Others who can tolerate the risk can main their full position, but they should keep in mind the stock gains from here in 2011 will likely be tough to achieve. Also, if you're looking for a decent dividend, it's worth retaining KMB, given its $2.64 annual dividend.

Look for Kimberly's 2011 revenue to increase 2-4%, aided by impressive growth in emerging markets, particularly in KMB's personal care and health care units.

Kimberly-Clark (KMB) was a weak stock on Tuesday. By the end of the session, it had sold off by 5.8% to $62.61. Volume was very strong as investors digested the latest earnings release.

That $62.61 price places the stock at around the midpoint of the yearly range: The 52-week low is $58.25 while the 52-week high is $67.24. After realizing how tight the range is, it's no surprise that the one-year chart would be an up-down affair. With yesterday's plunge, could it be that now is the time to get in on the shares? Are they a trade?

If you considered Kimberly-Clark (KMB), first discussed here on June 22, 2009, at a price of $51.06, during the stock's summer side-ways action, it proved to be a prudent move, as the shares have powered ahead since then.

In 2010, look for Kimberly's revenue to increase 5% to 6%, aided by impressive growth in emerging markets, particularly in KMB's personal care and health care units.

Kimberly has successfully positioned itself as a global consumer products/personal products company, with 50% of its sales outside the U.S., including about 30% from Asia/Latin America. A cost containment program that's yielding results and a nice $2.64 annual dividend add to the positive mix.

Analyst Upgrades

• Deutsche Bank upgraded Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) to buy from hold based on valuation. The firm keeps a $39 target on the stock.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Kenexa (KNXA) to overweight from neutral, citing a strengthening of trends for the company. The firm has a $29 price target on the stock.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Gaylord Entertainment (GET) to buy from neutral on expectations the company will benefit from strong trends in 2011. The firm raised its target for shares to $35 from $32.50.
• MeadWestvaco (MWV) was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• EADS (EADSY) was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.

The shares of (KMB), which I first discussed here on June 22, 2009, at a price of $51.06, have meandered over the past three months at or near $62, as the market sorts out the health of the U.S. economic recovery, creating a decent price at which to consider the shares if you missed the $51 level.

In 2010, look for revenue to increase 5% to 6%, aided by impressive growth in emerging markets, particularly in KMB's personal care and health care units. Kimberly has successfully positioned itself as a global consumer products/personal products company, with 50% of its sales outside the U.S., including about 30% from Asia/Latin America. Kimberly sells products in more than 150 countries.

I'm going to take a brief look at two earnings releases from the week. One involves a business backed by an iconic piece of financial plastic while the other concerns a company that is a dividend play based on brands such as Kleenex.

American Express (AXP), which competes with MasterCard (MA) and Visa (V), had a great Q1. Reuters says that the company made 73 cents per share, a number that is nine pennies ahead of analyst projections. The growth in net income was impressive, and it shows that the economy is performing a lot better than it once was.

It is mind boggling that Hugo Chavez, the authoritarian President of Venezuela is racing towards a mock socialist political system when the two largest socialist regimes in the world, China and Russia, have done the opposite. Even our long standing communist adversary (now trading partner) Vietnam entered the 21st Century on a capitalist influenced spring loaded economic boom.

BusinessWeek reports in its latest edition that the Chavez government has been taking privately held supermarkets under government control:

It's been a busy week in the equities market. Earnings reports are coming fast and furious. I thought I would catch up on a few companies with a brief look at their numbers.

First up is an entity from the consumer products sector. Kimberly-Clark (KMB), a colleague of Procter & Gamble (PG), issued fourth-quarter data on Friday. Sales increased over 8%, with a better currency environment helping things out. Organic sales powered up almost 3%, driven in part by higher prices. Per-share profit went up over 15% to $1.17.

Procter & Gamble (PG), whose related companies include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Kimberly-Clark (KMB), is yet another stock close to a 52-week high. Is it too high to buy, or is it likely to be a prudent defensive holding for 2010?

P&G's price action is pretty interesting. Even though it's near a 52-week high, it's actually flat on the year-to-date frame in terms of performance. That doesn't include dividend payments, of course, but nevertheless, there have been so many other stocks that have bounced off the March lows and delivered serious price appreciation superior to what P&G has been able to accomplish. This is one argument for the stock, since you might not have to worry about it being overbought relative to other equities.

The rest of the world is going to help U.S. consumer product manufacturers next year. Look for international growth to push the likes of Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Avon (AVP) and Clorox (CLX) higher in 2010, according to Fitch Ratings. In an interview with Reuters, a director gave the Fitch's outlook for consumer goods.

The household and personal care segments increased revenue every year from 2003 to 2008. So, 2009 was but a bump in the road. Even in a recession, you need toilet paper and shampoo, so expect the spending to come back.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), a consumer products entity whose colleagues include Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), is up today on third-quarter results. At the time of this writing, my screen was showing shares of Kimberly-Clark higher by a little under 6%.

According to the corporate press release, sales declined 1.7%. Not a great start, but Kimberly-Clark highlighted a better metric: organic sales increased 3%, helped along by price increases. Luckily, sales volume didn't fare too badly; they were essentially flat.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB), a consumer-products company that counts Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) as colleagues, announced Q2 results on Thursday. The performance wasn't spectacular, but management successfully defended the bottom line from the recession by instituting pricing strategies that leveraged the brand equity of the company's portfolio.

The bottom line fell, of course, but probably not as far as it would have if there weren't any pricing mechanisms in place. Earnings per share came in at 97 cents. This was six cents lower than last year's adjusted Q2 income. Revenues were challenged by dollar fluctuations, dropping well over 5%. However, here's the silver lining: organic sales increased almost 3%, even with volumes on the decline.