Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Invests $645,000 in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock worth $4,605,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,589,967 shares of the company's stock worth $1,387,709,000 after buying an additional 529,223 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,113,444,000 after acquiring an additional 797,953 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,529,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $986,616,000 after acquiring an additional 417,118 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $740,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,794 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.74, for a total transaction of $234,547.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,032.52. This represents a 36.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,872 shares of company stock valued at $2,208,684 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $133.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $137.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.70. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 company earned $2.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current 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 paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 68.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.08.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.