National Pension Service Increases Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 833,376 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,077 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.25% of Kimberly-Clark worth $101,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company's stock worth $869,090,000 after buying an additional 177,712 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the third 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 lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company's stock worth $590,345,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,051,719 shares of the company's stock worth $489,650,000 after buying an additional 155,066 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,434,571 shares of the company's stock worth $415,068,000 after buying an additional 148,076 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $136.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,053,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,781. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $145.29. The firm has a market cap of $46.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $128.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.62.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $134.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.