Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 49.6% in the fourth quarter, holding 41,711 shares worth about $4.2 million at quarter-end.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors controlling 76.29% of Kimberly-Clark shares, while several funds either boosted or initiated positions in the stock.
• Kimberly-Clark reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.97 and revenue of $4.16 billion, and it also announced a $1.28 quarterly dividend yielding about 5.1%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 49.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,711 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,825 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KMB. Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $1,009,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 399,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,690,000 after buying an additional 14,386 shares in the last quarter. Jain Global LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at $11,973,000. Westpac Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 54,135 shares of the company's stock worth $5,462,000 after acquiring an additional 10,811 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,774,290 shares of the company's stock worth $281,258,000 after acquiring an additional 334,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KMB. UBS Group raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $115.43.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $100.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.42 and a twelve month high of $137.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.28. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $98.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.70.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.Kimberly-Clark's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.

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