Simplicity Solutions LLC Has $1.24 Million Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Simplicity Solutions LLC decreased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,220 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,377 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 123,302.7% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,430,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $601,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,426,568 shares in the last quarter. Cowa LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $441,478,000. Imprint Wealth LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 13,781.2% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 2,763,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,361,000 after acquiring an additional 2,743,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on KMB shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.43.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $125.45 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.20. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $147.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The company had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.85%.

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.