Stephens Inc. AR Grows Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 25.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,529 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,495 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 26,997.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,368,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,399,000 after acquiring an additional 7,341,215 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $521,184,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628,206 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,382,000 after purchasing an additional 997,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $92,314,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $114.74 on Wednesday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a one year low of $92.42 and a one year high of $137.46. The company has a market cap of $38.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $101.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.43.

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.