Vanguard Group Inc. Has $4.61 Billion Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,603,787 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.54% of Kimberly-Clark worth $4,605,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $137.76 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.09 and a 200-day moving average of $136.11.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 3.66%. 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 presently 66.75%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. 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. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

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.