Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 586,519 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. sold 586,519 shares of Kimberly-Clark Co., reducing its holdings by 97.5% in the second quarter, leaving it with only 15,157 shares worth approximately $1.95 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Bell Bank and International Private Wealth Advisors LLC, increased their positions in Kimberly-Clark, contributing to institutional ownership of 76.29%.
• Kimberly-Clark reported $1.92 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate, but its revenue of $4.16 billion fell short of expectations.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 97.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,157 shares of the company's stock after selling 586,519 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bell Bank raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 8.6% in the second quarter. Bell Bank now owns 48,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,234,000 after buying an additional 3,811 shares during the last quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 18.0% in the second quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.2% in the second quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 64,052 shares of the company's stock worth $8,258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% in the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 7,859 shares of the company's stock worth $1,013,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares during the period. Finally, Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth about $39,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $122.23 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $121.02 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $129.31 and a 200-day moving average of $133.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is currently 69.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.20.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.