Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Acquires 5,202 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,592 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,202 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 572,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,450,000 after buying an additional 17,919 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 63,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,037,000 after acquiring an additional 15,693 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 15,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth approximately $324,000. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.6% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 433,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,665,000 after purchasing an additional 253,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $140.73 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $123.84 and a 52-week high of $150.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $136.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.98.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Friday. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.