Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 35,060 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 809,303 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,060 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.24% of Kimberly-Clark worth $115,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 329.6% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.50.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $2.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $131.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,829,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,201,572. The company has a market capitalization of $43.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $134.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.74. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $124.10 and a 52 week high of $150.45. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.83%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is currently 68.66%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total transaction of $95,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $518,410.90. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.