Ieq Capital LLC Trims Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Ieq Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,524 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,012,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,768,367,000 after buying an additional 1,083,824 shares during the period. Sarasin & Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% in the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 988,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,506,000 after acquiring an additional 576,610 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1,427.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 589,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,284,000 after purchasing an additional 551,158 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,625,000 after purchasing an additional 464,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 140.0% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 662,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,278,000 after purchasing an additional 386,510 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $139.90 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $46.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average is $130.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.45. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $120.49 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

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, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $350,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.