Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Holdings Reduced by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 21.5%, selling 5,291 shares and retaining 19,268 shares worth approximately $2.74 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Rockefeller Capital Management, have increased their positions in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have varied ratings on Kimberly-Clark, with seven holding a "hold" rating, one a "sell" rating, and three issuing a "buy" rating; the average price target is $142.70.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 21.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,268 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,291 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10,975.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,902,050 shares of the company's stock worth $270,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,877 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2,982.8% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,384,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,878,000 after buying an additional 1,339,413 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,786,000 after buying an additional 1,328,341 shares during the period. Trinity Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth approximately $181,762,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $106,458,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.70.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $132.94. 2,123,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,331,380. The stock has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

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

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.