Korea Investment CORP Increases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,621 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $27,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 572,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,450,000 after acquiring an additional 17,919 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 47,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 32.8% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 63,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,037,000 after purchasing an additional 15,693 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 14,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 4,243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,900,000 after purchasing an additional 20,953 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $140.73 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $123.84 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.05. 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 has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. 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. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio 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.