Fruth Investment Management Has $2.68 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Fruth Investment Management reduced its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,762,000 after buying an additional 4,447 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.2% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 7,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 82,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,670,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SL Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at $144,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $129.13 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 7.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.64%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. TD Cowen cut 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, StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.