State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $19.33 Million Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,486 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,709 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $19,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $137.87 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.70 and its 200-day moving average is $135.69. 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 $124.10 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The firm has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.31.

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.