Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 148.4%, owning approximately 0.25% of the company valued at nearly $119 million after acquiring an additional 499,443 shares in the first quarter.
• Kimberly-Clark's stock is currently priced at $129.17 with a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, and has a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, indicating stable investor interest despite a slight revenue drop year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26 per share, providing a 3.9% yield, and maintaining a payout ratio of 69.42%, reflecting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 148.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 835,915 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 499,443 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Kimberly-Clark worth $118,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 176.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $130.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,325,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,893. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $124.10 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock's 50 day moving average is $130.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.81. The stock has a market cap of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 target price on the stock. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.