Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 52,769 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Kimberly‑Clark by 2.3% in Q3, buying 52,769 shares to hold 2,375,544 shares (about 0.72% ownership) valued at roughly $295.4 million.
• Kimberly‑Clark raised its quarterly dividend to $1.28 (annualized $5.12), yielding about 5.1%, with an ex‑dividend date of March 6 and a payout ratio near 84%.
• Analysts have a consensus Hold rating with a $119 target; the company slightly beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.86 vs. $1.81) while revenue declined 0.6% year‑over‑year.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,375,544 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,769 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.72% of Kimberly-Clark worth $295,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,435,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,212,942,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200,011 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $556,114,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 350.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,583,193 shares of the company's stock worth $204,105,000 after buying an additional 1,231,501 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 32,568.4% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 978,419 shares of the company's stock worth $126,138,000 after buying an additional 975,424 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,048,544 shares of the company's stock worth $251,274,000 after buying an additional 963,978 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:KMB opened at $100.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $103.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.56. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $96.26 and a fifty-two week high of $147.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.24.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.Kimberly-Clark's revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.1%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark 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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