Independent Advisor Alliance Has $3.55 Million Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,114 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,279 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $139.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $123.02 and a one year high of $150.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $133.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KMB. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

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.