Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Purchased by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 32,405 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Motco grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $177,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.3% during the third quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 3,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, S&CO Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.4% during the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 24,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,010,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE KMB opened at $128.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $43.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 93.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. HSBC upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.85.

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.