Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.26 Per Share

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, January 28th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of 1.26 per share on Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22.

Kimberly-Clark has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.3% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 54 years. Kimberly-Clark has a payout ratio of 63.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Kimberly-Clark to earn $7.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.04 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.0%.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $141.24 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $122.99 and a 12 month high of $149.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 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, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares in the company, valued at $357,420. This trade represents a 49.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 74.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,494 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,765 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.