Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 311,220 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,485 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $37,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $126.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was 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 directly 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

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.