Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 117.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,479 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,649 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:KMB traded up $2.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.85. 1,820,611 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,165,535. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.89 and a 200 day moving average of $136.45. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $118.62 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The company has a market capitalization of $45.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.51 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on KMB. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.