Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stake Boosted by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 40.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,869 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 74,706 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.08% of Kimberly-Clark worth $36,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 329.6% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $127.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 997,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,213,495. The firm has a market cap of $42.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $124.10 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.62.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $134.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.50.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,794 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.74, for a total value of $234,547.56. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,032.52. The trade was a 36.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

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.