Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stake Lessened by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,367,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 317,658 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.01% of Kimberly-Clark worth $441,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Plancorp LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 44.7% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 31,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,142,000 after purchasing an additional 9,767 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $1,608,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $2,628,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $119,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $138.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $134.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. 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 52-week low of $123.84 and a 52-week high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lowered shares of 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. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.