Sei Investments Co. Raises Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 299,660 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 14,831 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $39,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB opened at $137.76 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The firm has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.11.

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 return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on KMB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.