Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Position Lifted by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 284.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,374 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,938 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 650.0% in the 4th quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 31,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,828,000 after buying an additional 27,300 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 311,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,816,000 after buying an additional 22,485 shares during the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,938,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 61.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,311 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,374,000 after buying an additional 4,302 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,795,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,785. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The firm has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $124.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.85.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

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.