Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $127.44 Million Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 972,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $127,436,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Kimberly-Clark as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 416,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,248,000 after purchasing an additional 24,383 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 143.2% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 6,277 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 135.9% in the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 242,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,543,000 after purchasing an additional 139,844 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.3% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 9,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at $515,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $144.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.37 and its 200-day moving average is $136.52. The company has a market cap of $48.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $123.02 and a 12 month high of $149.31.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.75%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.