Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $37.79 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 293.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 288,374 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 215,164 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.09% of Kimberly-Clark worth $37,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Old North State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 10,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 14,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,930,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 354,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,322,000 after buying an additional 3,424 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 5,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 1,219 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

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

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.1 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $129.13 on Thursday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.95. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut 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 note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.