Asset Planning Inc Buys Shares of 7,010 Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Asset Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company's stock worth $2,768,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,824 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its stake 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1,427.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 589,771 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,284,000 after purchasing an additional 551,158 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company's stock worth $358,625,000 after buying an additional 464,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 662,620 shares of the company's stock worth $94,278,000 after buying an additional 386,510 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $2.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $135.66. 2,695,388 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,176,658. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $129.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $118.62 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 3.72%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is 64.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.