Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management acquired a new stake of 24,755 Kimberly‑Clark shares in Q4, valued at about $2.498 million.
• Institutional ownership stands at roughly 76.29%, with large managers like State Street, Massachusetts Financial Services and Nordea materially increasing their positions.
• Kimberly‑Clark raised its quarterly dividend to $1.28 (annualized $5.12), a yield of about 5.2%, though the dividend payout ratio is high at 84.35%.

Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,498,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company's stock worth $2,615,382,000 after buying an additional 997,397 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $790,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628,206 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,940,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $614,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,306 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,890,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $483,707,000 after purchasing an additional 9,951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,774,290 shares of the company's stock worth $281,258,000 after purchasing an additional 334,598 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $114.86.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NASDAQ KMB opened at $98.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.05. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.42 and a 52 week high of $144.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.28.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 170.48%. The firm's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is 84.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.

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