Duality Advisers LP Makes New Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 30,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,345,000 after purchasing an additional 212,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,051,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $489,650,000 after purchasing an additional 155,066 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,434,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,068,000 after purchasing an additional 148,076 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $128.89 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $124.44 and a 200-day moving average of $122.43. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. The company has a market cap of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.79%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.85.

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.