NorthRock Partners LLC Raises Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 477.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,917 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,028 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603,787 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company's stock worth $1,113,444,000 after acquiring an additional 797,953 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 417,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% during 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. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB traded up $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $140.85. 634,610 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,159,902. The firm has a market cap of $46.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $137.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.80.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The business 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 68.66%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were 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 owns 7,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,872 shares of company stock worth $2,208,684 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of 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 reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $145.08.

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.