Norges Bank Acquires New Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Kimberly-Clark, buying 5.17 million shares worth about $521.2 million and holding roughly 1.56% of the company.
• Kimberly-Clark reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.97 and revenue of $4.16 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.28 per share, implying a 5.2% annualized yield, while analysts currently view the stock as a Hold overall.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,165,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $521,184,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.56% of Kimberly-Clark as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% during 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 363,919 shares of the company's stock worth $46,923,000 after purchasing an additional 24,698 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 284,655 shares of the company's stock worth $36,698,000 after purchasing an additional 87,455 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 11.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company's stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.5% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the company's stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $114.93.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KMB opened at $97.60 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $97.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.29. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $92.42 and a 52 week high of $144.30. The company has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

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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