Amundi Lowers Stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Kimberly-Clark stake by 19.8% in the first quarter, selling 402,166 shares and retaining 1.63 million shares worth approximately $157 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.29% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly neutral: Kimberly-Clark has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $117.93, though several firms recently raised their targets while Bank of America lowered its target to $120.
• Kimberly-Clark reported quarterly EPS of $1.97, beating estimates, while revenue rose 2.7% year over year to $4.16 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.28, equivalent to a 4.7% annualized yield.

Amundi cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,626,991 shares of the company's stock after selling 402,166 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 0.49% of Kimberly-Clark worth $156,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,999 shares of the company's stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,093 shares of the company's stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 18.3% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the company's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KMB. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $109.31 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.46. The stock has a market cap of $36.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

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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