New England Research & Management Inc. Has $2.14 Million Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

New England Research & Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,339 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,015 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark makes up approximately 1.1% of New England Research & Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company's stock worth $2,768,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,824 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,092,388,000 after buying an additional 206,671 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $358,625,000 after buying an additional 464,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 20,953 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $130.70. The stock had a trading volume of 821,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,100. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $117.67 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KMB. Citigroup lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.