Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB Shares Sold by Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 12.2%, holding 35,248 shares valued at approximately $5 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Kimberly-Clark, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $142.70.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,248 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,879 shares during the quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $5,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Pacific Financial acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 176.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $131.33. 2,566,397 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,332,886. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $130.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.12. 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 company has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $150.45.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.70.

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.