Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $4.14 Million Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 44.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,607 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,767 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,142,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $138.31 on Monday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.18. The company has a market capitalization of $45.87 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 66.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

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.