Welch Group LLC Raises Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 363,350 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,719 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark makes up approximately 2.2% of Welch Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.11% of Kimberly-Clark worth $51,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,589,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,387,709,000 after buying an additional 529,223 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,444,000 after buying an additional 797,953 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,529,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,616,000 after buying an additional 417,118 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,868,000 after buying an additional 1,015,141 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE KMB opened at $143.79 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $47.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,794 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.74, for a total value of $234,547.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $405,032.52. This represents a 36.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.64% 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.