MUFG Securities EMEA plc Buys 7,267 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 114.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,617 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,267 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,846,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,027,000 after acquiring an additional 315,981 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,382,000 after acquiring an additional 997,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,322,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,216,000 after acquiring an additional 65,619 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $521,184,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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 decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $97.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $97.68 and a 200 day moving average of $101.26. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.42 and a 1 year high of $141.02.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.3%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687 in the last 90 days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.