Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 10,652 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 549,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,652 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $72,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KMB. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 433,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,834,000 after buying an additional 34,249 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 8,322.4% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 9,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 9,654 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $582,592,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 665.8% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 38,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,021,000 after purchasing an additional 33,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $739,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. This trade represents 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. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $140.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $123.84 and a one year high of $150.45. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $136.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.98.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

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.