Stephens Inc. AR Increases Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 45,896 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,267,000 after acquiring an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,409,000 after acquiring an additional 21,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.9 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $131.44 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $117.67 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $130.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.73. 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 (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on KMB. Citigroup dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.