Plato Investment Management Ltd Invests $57,000 in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE KMB opened at $141.79 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.52. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.02 and a twelve month high of $149.31. The stock has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given 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 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.