Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases Shares of 93,890 Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark, purchasing 93,890 shares valued at about $9.47 million in the fourth quarter.
• Kimberly-Clark reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.97 versus $1.93 expected and revenue of $4.16 billion, up 2.7% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.9%, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold.

Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 93,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,473,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $521,184,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company's stock worth $790,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628,206 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 331.6% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,107,640 shares of the company's stock worth $137,724,000 after acquiring an additional 851,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 582.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 851,200 shares of the company's stock worth $85,878,000 after acquiring an additional 726,400 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:KMB opened at $104.28 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.88. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.42 and a 12 month high of $137.46.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm'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 document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Zacks Research lowered Kimberly-Clark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.93.

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.

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