FourThought Financial Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,040,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,459,000 after buying an additional 30,312 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $167,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $183,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $139.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $46.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.47. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $120.49 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid 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 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on KMB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.