Rodgers Brothers Inc. Has $9.50 Million Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. reduced its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,495 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark accounts for 1.2% of Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $9,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,605,079,000 after acquiring an additional 4,603,787 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $582,592,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in 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 approximately $127,436,000. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% during the fourth quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 988,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,506,000 after purchasing an additional 576,610 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $140.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $136.12 and a 200-day moving average of $135.92. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $123.84 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. As a group, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors 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 represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.85.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.