3,817 Shares in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Bought by Sovran Advisors LLC

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,768,367,000 after buying an additional 1,083,824 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,060,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,443,000 after buying an additional 358,926 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,388,000 after acquiring an additional 206,671 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,625,000 after buying an additional 464,615 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 20,953 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $133.87 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $117.67 and a 12 month high of $149.30. The firm has a market cap of $44.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 64.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on KMB. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark 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.