FORA Capital LLC Takes $2.28 Million Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 17,391 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,279,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $582,592,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,786,000 after buying an additional 1,328,341 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $740,868,000 after buying an additional 1,015,141 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $127,436,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.01. 1,864,151 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,139,789. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.71. 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 company has a market cap of $44.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total transaction of $95,978.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,872 shares of company stock worth $2,208,684. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark 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.