Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,732,936 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 396,956 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.82% of Kimberly-Clark worth $339,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 2,765 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 1,218 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth $531,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.0% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 90,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,712,000 after buying an additional 2,673 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.1%

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $108.68 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $96.26 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 83.03%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $162.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

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.