Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $13.40 Million Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,285 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $13,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $137.76 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $123.84 and a one year high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.11.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

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.