Sigma Planning Corp Acquires 768 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,468 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 768 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,060,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,443,000 after buying an additional 358,926 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,388,000 after buying an additional 206,671 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,625,000 after buying an additional 464,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,900,000 after buying an additional 20,953 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $140.28 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $118.62 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.37 and a 200-day moving average of $136.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

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.