Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Purchased by Dearborn Partners LLC

Dearborn Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,397 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 14,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 6,847 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth $255,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 89.1% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 51,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,271,000 after acquiring an additional 24,076 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 59.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 136,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,462,000 after acquiring an additional 51,067 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE KMB opened at $147.30 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.48. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $123.02 and a 52 week high of $150.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.