Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 29,459 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its Kimberly-Clark stake by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 29,459 shares and leaving it with 150,447 shares valued at about $15.2 million.
• Kimberly-Clark reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.97 versus $1.93 expected and revenue of $4.16 billion, up 2.7% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 5.2%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,447 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,459 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $15,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $97.55 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.42 and a fifty-two week high of $144.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $97.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.2%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on KMB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark 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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