Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Reduces Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 244,627 shares of the company’s stock after selling 99,010 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $32,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,367,000 after buying an additional 1,083,824 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $127,436,000. Sarasin & Partners LLP increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 140.1% in the fourth 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1,427.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 589,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,284,000 after purchasing an additional 551,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,589,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,387,709,000 after purchasing an additional 529,223 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of KMB opened at $147.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $132.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.48. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $123.02 and a fifty-two week high of $150.45. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 66.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KMB. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related 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 transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.