Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 703,946 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,850 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.21% of Kimberly-Clark worth $87,529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,435,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,212,942,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,482,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,344,000 after buying an additional 218,644 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,254,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,423,000 after buying an additional 363,865 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,097,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,128,000 after buying an additional 270,134 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $556,114,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Argus raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $111.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $96.26 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.33. The firm has a market cap of $36.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 83.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.