Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock Position Increased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 630.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,639 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,131 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company's stock worth $2,768,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,824 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,060,744 shares of the company's stock worth $1,431,443,000 after purchasing an additional 358,926 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company's stock worth $1,092,388,000 after purchasing an additional 206,671 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company's stock worth $358,625,000 after purchasing an additional 464,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,258 shares of the company's stock worth $385,900,000 after acquiring an additional 20,953 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.21. The stock had a trading volume of 947,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,006. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $118.62 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The company has a market cap of $46.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $130.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.48.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 64.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 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 cut their price objective on 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. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.64.

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.