Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. has decreased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 15.3%, now holding 86,655 shares valued at approximately $12.32 million after selling 15,630 shares.
• Kimberly-Clark reported earnings per share of $1.92 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates of $1.67, although its revenue of $4.16 billion fell short of the expected $4.85 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26, which will be payable on October 2nd, yielding a 3.9% annualized dividend at a payout ratio of 69.42%.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,655 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,630 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $12,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,056 shares of the company's stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 2,042 shares of the company's stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,031 shares of the company's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 6,386 shares of the company's stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. 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 note on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.70.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.99. 1,442,291 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,302,469. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The business's fifty day moving average is $130.33 and its 200-day moving average is $134.58.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is 69.42%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

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.