Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stake Boosted by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 464,053 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,768 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.14% of Kimberly-Clark worth $60,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,603,787 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,824 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,589,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,709,000 after acquiring an additional 529,223 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,092,388,000 after acquiring an additional 206,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $582,592,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $142.27 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $136.42 and its 200-day moving average is $135.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $123.84 and a 1-year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on KMB. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.85.

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.