Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 19.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $762,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $437,420,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,926,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,114,000 after purchasing an additional 370,094 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 277.9% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 472,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,466,000 after purchasing an additional 347,778 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 69.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 779,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,793,000 after purchasing an additional 318,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 854.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 330,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,207,000 after purchasing an additional 296,255 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total value of $866,420.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,562,467.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,462 shares of company stock valued at $7,206,653 in the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $0.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $141.81. 2,064,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,201,267. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $137.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.23. The company has a market cap of $47.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $145.62.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.