Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 84.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 84,566 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 38,670 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $12,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after buying an additional 4,603,787 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,473,459 shares of the company's stock worth $1,113,444,000 after purchasing an additional 797,953 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,529,108 shares of the company's stock worth $986,616,000 after purchasing an additional 417,118 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company's stock worth $740,868,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $582,592,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,997 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $518,410.90. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $129.38 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $134.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.74. The company has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 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.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. Research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KMB. Barclays dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.50.

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.

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