Vanguard Group Inc. Has $4.61 Billion Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,603,787 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.54% of Kimberly-Clark worth $4,605,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $136.95. 1,800,993 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,036,552. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.84 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The business's 50-day moving average is $135.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.11. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $45.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

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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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.