Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $37.82 Million Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 311,220 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,485 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.09% of Kimberly-Clark worth $37,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 4,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motco grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was 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 directly 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 Up 1.0 %

KMB stock opened at $126.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $42.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.36. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. This is a positive change 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 is 93.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.85.

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.