United Services Automobile Association Boosts Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 168,864 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $22,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 624,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,894,000 after buying an additional 18,914 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,912,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $138.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $45.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.32, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $123.84 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $134.84 and a 200-day moving average of $136.18.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

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.