Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $54.07 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 412,588 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,831 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Kimberly-Clark worth $54,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 77.4% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 6,016 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 12,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,677,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company's stock worth $239,267,000 after buying an additional 273,813 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 20,377.6% during the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 33,788 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,428,000 after buying an additional 33,623 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB traded up $1.31 on Friday, hitting $140.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,316,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,741. The stock has a market cap of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company's fifty day moving average price is $130.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.48. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $118.62 and a 1-year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of 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 reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.64.

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.