Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,581 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KMB. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,768,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,824 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $127,436,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 988,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,506,000 after purchasing an additional 576,610 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1,427.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 589,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,284,000 after acquiring an additional 551,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,589,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,709,000 after acquiring an additional 529,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $144.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.52. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $123.02 and a 12-month high of $149.31.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on KMB shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

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.