Bank of Nova Scotia Has $13.52 Million Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia cut its Kimberly-Clark stake by 18.9% in the first quarter, leaving it with 140,150 shares valued at about $13.52 million.
• Kimberly-Clark posted a solid quarterly earnings beat, reporting $1.97 EPS on $4.16 billion in revenue, both above Wall Street estimates. Revenue rose 2.7% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.7%. Meanwhile, analysts are mostly cautious, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $117.93.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 18.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,150 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,723 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $13,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 363,919 shares of the company's stock worth $46,923,000 after buying an additional 24,698 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 284,655 shares of the company's stock worth $36,698,000 after purchasing an additional 87,455 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company's stock worth $424,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the company's stock worth $1,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.93.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $109.70 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.99. The firm has a market cap of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.26. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $92.42 and a 1 year high of $137.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. Kimberly-Clark's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

About Kimberly-Clark

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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