Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 34,249 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 433,713 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 34,249 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.13% of Kimberly-Clark worth $56,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock worth $4,605,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603,787 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $582,592,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,768,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,824 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $127,436,000. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 988,294 shares of the company's stock worth $129,506,000 after acquiring an additional 576,610 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $1.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $142.27. 1,974,060 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,137,648. The company has a market capitalization of $47.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.92. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.84 and a 12 month high of $150.45.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.85.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.