Forsta AP Fonden Sells 4,000 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 3.2%, now owning 120,700 shares valued at $17.17 million.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Kimberly-Clark, with the consensus currently at "Hold" and an average price target of $142.70.
• Kimberly-Clark declared a quarterly dividend of $1.26, yielding 3.7%, with payment scheduled for October 2nd.

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 120,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $17,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 877,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,331,242. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.01. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $124.10 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The stock has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is 69.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KMB. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.70.

Kimberly-Clark 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.