Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires 104 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,240 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $139.53 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $135.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders 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 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.