Ascent Group LLC Increases Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Ascent Group LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,880 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after buying an additional 1,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 202.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 14,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 9,763 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $141.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $46.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.07. 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 $124.10 and a 1-year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.08.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,372 shares of company stock worth $1,858,684. Company 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.