Legal & General Group Plc Has $295.38 Million Stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 2.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,375,544 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 52,769 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $295,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 5,200,011 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $556,114,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 350.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,583,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,501 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 32,568.4% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 978,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,138,000 after acquiring an additional 975,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,048,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,274,000 after acquiring an additional 963,978 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ KMB opened at $100.04 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12 month low of $96.26 and a 12 month high of $147.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $103.43 and a 200-day moving average of $110.56. The company has a market cap of $33.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.28 dividend. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 84.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.