Franklin Resources Inc. Has $60.04 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 20.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 418,270 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,633 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Kimberly-Clark worth $60,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the company's stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the third quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company's stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $131.14. 3,346,125 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,121,633. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $136.89 and a 200-day moving average of $139.46. The company has a market cap of $43.73 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $117.67 and a 12 month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.93.

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.