Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,040,747 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,312 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.91% of Kimberly-Clark worth $398,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% during the third quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 1,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $139.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $46.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $130.92 and its 200 day moving average is $136.47. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $120.49 and a 1-year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

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.