Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC Has $16.30 Million Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 124,354 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,716 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark comprises about 2.1% of Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $16,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 827 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 624,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,894,000 after buying an additional 18,914 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,912,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group boosted 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. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $138.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.84 and a 12 month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS 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%. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.