Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Grows Stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 28.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 519,663 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,933 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.16% of Kimberly-Clark worth $50,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 7,341,215 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $521,184,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the fourth 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. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,382,000 after acquiring an additional 997,397 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,314,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on KMB. Zacks Research downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.43.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:KMB opened at $109.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.84. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.42 and a 12 month high of $137.46.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released 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. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.