Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $13.40 Million Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 102,285 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $13,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research 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, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $137.76 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $123.84 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.11. The firm has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced 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 net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, 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 will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.