Bank of Nova Scotia Buys 160,763 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 372.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,885 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 160,763 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.06% of Kimberly-Clark worth $26,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.6 %

KMB stock traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $141.64. 478,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,168,909. The firm has a market cap of $46.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $124.10 and a 1-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's 50 day simple moving average is $138.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.68.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KMB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.38.

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.