Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Purchases 11,009 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 399.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,765 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,009 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,673,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $26,163,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 84.7% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,958 shares of the company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,038 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $145.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock traded up $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $139.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,721,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,149,010. The firm has a market cap of $46.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $150.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $138.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.68.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

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.