Arjuna Capital Lowers Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Arjuna Capital reduced its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,768,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,824 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,436,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1,427.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 589,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,284,000 after buying an additional 551,158 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% during 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 buying an additional 529,223 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $144.86 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $123.02 and a 12-month high of $149.31. 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 cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.57.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KMB. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

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.