Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 4,468 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 139,835 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $18,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $139.90 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $120.49 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $130.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.45. The company has a market capitalization of $46.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. 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 yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. TD Cowen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. The trade was a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.