OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Trims Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 472 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $57,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,465,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,180,000 after purchasing an additional 108,050 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after buying an additional 641,187 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,345,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 123,302.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,430,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $601,394,000 after buying an additional 4,426,568 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $125.62 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.22 dividend. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KMB. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. HSBC upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.