Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Increases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 665.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,313 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,310 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $5,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 572,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,450,000 after purchasing an additional 17,919 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 63,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,037,000 after buying an additional 15,693 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at $324,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 140.6% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 433,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,665,000 after acquiring an additional 253,283 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $140.73 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average of $136.12 and a 200-day moving average of $135.98. The stock has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $123.84 and a 52 week high of $150.45.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

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.