Patten Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Patten Group Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,254 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark comprises approximately 1.8% of Patten Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $8,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KMB. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 15,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,589,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,709,000 after acquiring an additional 529,223 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 35,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,632,000 after acquiring an additional 9,711 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Silver Coast Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $143.48 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $122.98 and a 1-year high of $149.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $47.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.49.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.