Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management boosted its Kimberly-Clark stake by 9.3% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 181,889 shares worth about $17.5 million.
• Kimberly-Clark’s latest earnings topped expectations, with Q1 EPS of $1.97 versus estimates of $1.93 and revenue of $4.16 billion, up 2.7% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 4.7%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 181,889 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,533 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.05% of Kimberly-Clark worth $17,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,533 shares of the company's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,834,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,093 shares of the company's stock worth $1,523,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew 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 worth $64,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the company's stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays cut 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 research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $115.43.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm's 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. The trade was 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $109.37 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $99.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.79. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.42 and a 12-month high of $137.46. The firm has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.28. 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 (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Kimberly-Clark Company 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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