Nuance Investments LLC Has $66.73 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Nuance Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 509,202 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,199 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark makes up 2.7% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned about 0.15% of Kimberly-Clark worth $66,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB opened at $136.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $135.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.04. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $123.84 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

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.