Korea Investment CORP Raises Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 213,621 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.06% of Kimberly-Clark worth $27,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 572,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,450,000 after buying an additional 17,919 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 9.5% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 47,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after acquiring an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 32.8% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 63,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,037,000 after acquiring an additional 15,693 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 42.9% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 14,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 4,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,900,000 after purchasing an additional 20,953 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KMB opened at $140.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $123.84 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company 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 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark 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.