North Dakota State Investment Board Buys Shares of 15,778 Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 15,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,592,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 2,765 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 363,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,923,000 after purchasing an additional 24,698 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 284,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,698,000 after purchasing an additional 87,455 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.5% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $96.47 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $97.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a one year low of $92.42 and a one year high of $144.30. The company has a market capitalization of $32.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.29.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 80.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.93.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.