Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock Position Increased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,774 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,183 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,295,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 2.3 %

KMB stock traded down $3.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $144.02. 2,507,282 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,741. The company has a market capitalization of $47.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.02 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.48.

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Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KMB. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.64.

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.