Krane Funds Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,191 shares of the company’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 529,223 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,113,444,000 after buying an additional 797,953 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,868,000 after buying an additional 1,015,141 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $582,592,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $137.76 on Monday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $123.84 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.91.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.26 dividend. 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 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.