Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its Kimberly-Clark stake by 612.5% in the first quarter, ending with 205,588 shares worth about $19.8 million.
• Kimberly-Clark’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.97 EPS on $4.16 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 2.7% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 4.6%; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 612.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 205,588 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 176,733 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.06% of Kimberly-Clark worth $19,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 363,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,923,000 after purchasing an additional 24,698 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 284,655 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,698,000 after purchasing an additional 87,455 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company's stock valued at $424,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the company's stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 1,811 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.14.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NASDAQ KMB opened at $110.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.26. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52-week low of $92.42 and a 52-week high of $137.46.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.38%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KMB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.