Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,263 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,692 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.07% of Kimberly-Clark worth $33,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock worth $4,605,079,000 after acquiring an additional 4,603,787 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $582,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 10,975.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,902,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,877 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company's stock worth $280,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company's stock worth $740,868,000 after buying an additional 1,015,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 2.3%

KMB traded down $3.13 on Thursday, reaching $135.30. 3,514,606 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,301,330. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $137.63 and its 200-day moving average is $135.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $44.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,410.90. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $145.08.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.