Sarasin & Partners LLP Acquires 226,206 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,214,500 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 226,206 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark comprises about 1.8% of Sarasin & Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Sarasin & Partners LLP owned about 0.37% of Kimberly-Clark worth $172,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.09. 380,807 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,174,985. The business's 50 day moving average price is $136.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $124.10 and a 1-year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on KMB shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,794 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.74, for a total value of $234,547.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,032.52. The trade was a 36.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.