Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Grows Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,828 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,363 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $15,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 415,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,457,000 after acquiring an additional 68,306 shares during the period. Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 270,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,504,000 after acquiring an additional 17,350 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 3,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the period. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $130.29 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30. 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 (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%. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 64.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.