AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 5,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $739,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $140.55 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $123.84 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. This is an increase 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 is presently 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.50.

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.