Prudential PLC Sells 61,765 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Prudential PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 39.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 94,795 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61,765 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $12,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 5.1 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $137.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $137.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $123.84 and a 1-year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.85.

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.