Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 477,063 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 58,793 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Kimberly-Clark worth $62,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Cannell & Spears LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 20,434 shares of the company's stock worth $2,678,000 after buying an additional 1,079 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 6,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 430,724 shares of the company's stock worth $56,442,000 after purchasing an additional 33,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 298.9% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 128,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,847,000 after buying an additional 96,334 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

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Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $136.21. 516,802 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,171,166. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $123.84 and a one year high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen lowered shares of 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 reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.85.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.