Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $19.67 Million Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 149,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,673,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after acquiring an additional 4,603,787 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $582,592,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $127,436,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,113,444,000 after buying an additional 797,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% during the 4th quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 988,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,506,000 after buying an additional 576,610 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $137.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.95. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $123.84 and a 12-month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. Citigroup cut 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.85.

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.