DnB Asset Management AS Buys 2,446 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,625 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the last quarter. denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $515,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 37,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,926,000 after buying an additional 5,202 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 433,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,834,000 after buying an additional 34,249 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 8,322.4% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 9,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,000 after acquiring an additional 9,654 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.85.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.1 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $140.73 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.84 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

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.