Amundi Increases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,401,501 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 122,312 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $304,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,267,000 after acquiring an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20,377.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 33,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,428,000 after acquiring an additional 33,623 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $144.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $123.02 and a 52-week high of $149.31. The firm has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s fifty day moving average is $132.37 and its 200 day moving average is $136.52.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.