National Pension Service Boosts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

National Pension Service grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 833,376 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,077 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $101,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $136.22. 339,126 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,204,296. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $145.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.07 and a 200 day moving average of $123.62. The stock has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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, April 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total value of $61,398.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,324.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 20,562 shares of company stock worth $2,808,345. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.