Mackenzie Financial Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,900 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $8,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,465,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,180,000 after purchasing an additional 108,050 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,345,000 after purchasing an additional 212,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 123,302.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,430,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,568 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $126.83 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $124.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $122.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. The company has a market capitalization of $42.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business 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 for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. 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. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.85%.

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.