Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock Position Decreased by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 488 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after buying an additional 13,806 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 454,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,738,000 after buying an additional 69,794 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% during the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 10,820 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,081,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $1,094,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $138.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,199,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,186,709. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The company has a market capitalization of $46.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $145.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $138.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.57.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on KMB. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. TD Cowen started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,312 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,519. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by 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.