Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 9.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 225,924 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,413 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $21,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,125,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,157,746,000 after purchasing an additional 294,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,917,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,322,000 after purchasing an additional 299,382 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,322,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $836,216,000 after purchasing an additional 65,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $116.79.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $108.35 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.42 and a 1 year high of $137.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $103.19 and its 200 day moving average is $101.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 company’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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.