33,296 Shares in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Purchased by OP Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter, purchasing 33,296 shares worth about $3.21 million.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: Kimberly-Clark has a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $115.43, though Piper Sandler recently raised its target to $121 and kept an overweight rating.
• The company reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings with EPS of $1.97 and revenue of $4.16 billion, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, implying a 4.7% yield.

OP Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 33,296 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,212,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ally Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,009,000. Jain Global LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth approximately $11,973,000. Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 54,135 shares of the company's stock worth $5,462,000 after purchasing an additional 10,811 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,774,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,258,000 after purchasing an additional 334,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,076 shares of the company's stock worth $11,573,000 after buying an additional 25,576 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $115.43.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.2%

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $109.37 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.42 and a 1-year high of $137.46. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $99.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.79. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.28.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during 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 firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. The trade was 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 sold a total of 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687 over the last quarter. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.