Westpac Banking Corp Purchases 2,675 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Westpac Banking Corp raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,208 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,675 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Citigroup lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $1.89 on Tuesday, reaching $136.43. The company had a trading volume of 632,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,136,935. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.87. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45.

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 for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Kimberly-Clark 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.