Columbus Macro LLC Raises Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Columbus Macro LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,186 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark accounts for about 1.0% of Columbus Macro LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $582,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10,975.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,902,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,510,000 after buying an additional 1,884,877 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,786,000 after buying an additional 1,328,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trinity Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth $181,762,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of KMB opened at $130.84 on Monday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The company has a market cap of $43.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.22.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 68.66%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,410.90. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.73.

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.