OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Grows Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 24.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 545 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $71,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 39,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,145,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Busey Bank increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 5,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 25,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,937 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 4,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.2 %

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $129.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $131.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $117.67 and a 52-week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KMB. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

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.