MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Cuts Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH trimmed its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,220 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $4,253,000. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 240,819 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,103,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $1,661,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,740,000 after buying an additional 368,505 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $2.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $129.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,204,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,392,609. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $122.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.04.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.27.

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.