Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $37.82 Million Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 311,220 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,485 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.09% of Kimberly-Clark worth $37,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company's stock worth $603,815,000 after buying an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $590,345,000 after acquiring an additional 212,739 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,051,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $489,650,000 after acquiring an additional 155,066 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,434,571 shares of the company's stock worth $415,068,000 after acquiring an additional 148,076 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $128.89. 2,705,180 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,159,606. The company has a market cap of $43.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.43.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC raised their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.85.

Insider Activity

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