Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stake Increased by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,977 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares during the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 20,377.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 33,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,428,000 after purchasing an additional 33,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $143.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.49. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $122.98 and a fifty-two week high of $149.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.