Panagora Asset Management Inc. Acquires 14,990 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 157.1%, resulting in a total value of approximately $3.49 million in stock holdings.
• A number of institutional investors have also significantly increased their stakes in Kimberly-Clark, highlighting strong interest from hedge funds, with 76.29% of the stock now owned by such entities.
• Kimberly-Clark recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $5.04 and a yield of 3.9%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 157.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,529 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,990 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 176.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:KMB traded up $0.72 on Friday, reaching $129.89. 2,186,999 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,307,223. 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 company has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $150.45. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $130.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.98.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

About Kimberly-Clark

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.