Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Position Lifted by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 64.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,862 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,192 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark comprises about 0.8% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Convergence Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter valued at about $37,000. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 329.6% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,794 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.74, for a total transaction of $234,547.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $405,032.52. This represents a 36.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $134.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, July 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.90.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.38. 1,549,446 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,289,590. The company has a market cap of $42.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $132.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.52. 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 (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 68.66%.

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.