Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,197,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236,784 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark accounts for approximately 1.0% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $388,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,465,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,180,000 after purchasing an additional 108,050 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,345,000 after purchasing an additional 212,739 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 123,302.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of KMB traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $125.42. The stock had a trading volume of 610,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $42.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.26. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KMB. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the sale, 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.