Czech National Bank Acquires 3,875 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,182 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,875 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $10,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,605,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603,787 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $582,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 10,975.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,902,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,510,000 after buying an additional 1,884,877 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company's stock worth $280,786,000 after buying an additional 1,328,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $740,868,000 after buying an additional 1,015,141 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $2.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $136.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,489,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,648. The business's fifty day moving average price is $137.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.48. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $150.45. The firm has a market cap of $45.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 68.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $145.08.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total transaction of $95,978.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at $518,410.90. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.