State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Buys 37,709 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 34.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,486 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,709 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $19,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $131.62. 286,605 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,229,749. 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 fifty day moving average price is $139.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.46. The firm has a market cap of $43.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year 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. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.66%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.