Kestra Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 12.5% in Q1, owning 43,979 shares valued at approximately $6.25 million.
• Analysts have upgraded Kimberly-Clark's stock rating, with Piper Sandler issuing an "overweight" rating and a price target of $144, while JPMorgan Chase raised its rating to "neutral" with a target of $138.
• Kimberly-Clark recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26 per share, representing a yield of 3.9% and a payout ratio of 69.42%.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,979 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,892 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $6,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,235,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,011,188,000 after acquiring an additional 92,920 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,264,013 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,601,968,000 after acquiring an additional 674,046 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,095,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,151,309,000 after purchasing an additional 566,152 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,827,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $828,811,000 after purchasing an additional 173,915 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,974,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $520,784,000 after purchasing an additional 445,552 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.42 on Friday, reaching $129.14. 1,785,551 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,309,663. 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 has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.14. The firm has a market cap of $42.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.70.

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.