Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,120 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,367,000 after acquiring an additional 1,083,824 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,060,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,443,000 after acquiring an additional 358,926 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,388,000 after acquiring an additional 206,671 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,625,000 after acquiring an additional 464,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,900,000 after acquiring an additional 20,953 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.9 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $141.33 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, 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 quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $120.49 and a one year high of $149.30.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark 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.