The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 283,294 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,917 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.09% of Kimberly-Clark worth $27,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $109.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $105.76 and a 200-day moving average of $102.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.42 and a 52 week high of $137.46.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.93.

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.