Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 236,784 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,197,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236,784 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark makes up 1.0% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.95% of Kimberly-Clark worth $388,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $125.42. 610,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,093,334. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a $1.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.85%.

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.