AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 6.9% in Q1, now holding approximately 767,517 shares worth $108.75 million.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.92, beating estimates, but revenue fell to $4.16 billion, short of expectations.
• Kimberly-Clark announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.9% for shareholders.

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 767,517 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,657 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.23% of Kimberly-Clark worth $108,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 46.4% during the first quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,444 shares of the company's stock worth $1,770,000 after buying an additional 3,944 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 86.8% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 509,585 shares of the company's stock worth $72,473,000 after purchasing an additional 236,733 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 127,623 shares of the company's stock worth $18,145,000 after buying an additional 9,643 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 270.2% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 984,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,043,000 after buying an additional 718,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 108.6% in the 1st quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 45,088 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,412,000 after buying an additional 23,472 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $130.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,325,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,893. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $124.10 and a fifty-two week high of $150.45. The stock has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $130.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, July 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.70.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.