Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 9,767 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 44.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,607 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,767 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,142,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $1,608,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $2,628,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $119,000. Summit Global Investments increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 510.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 58,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,649,000 after acquiring an additional 48,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $198,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $138.31 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. 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’s 50 day moving average is $134.84 and its 200 day moving average is $136.18. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.84 and a 12 month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on KMB. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

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 shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now 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. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark 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.