Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys 86,063 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 56.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 237,487 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,063 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $30,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,367,000 after buying an additional 1,083,824 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 988,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,506,000 after purchasing an additional 576,610 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1,427.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 589,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,284,000 after purchasing an additional 551,158 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 464,615 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.0% during the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 662,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,278,000 after purchasing an additional 386,510 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $130.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 64.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% 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.