QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 13,959 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Kimberly-Clark stake by 20.7% in the first quarter, buying 13,959 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 81,484 shares worth about $7.86 million.
• Institutional interest in Kimberly-Clark remained strong, with several other funds also adding or starting positions, and 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
• Kimberly-Clark recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, posted revenue growth of 2.7% year over year, and continues to pay a 4.5% dividend yield; however, analysts are cautious overall with a consensus rating of Hold.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,484 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,959 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.4% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,469,000 after buying an additional 1,562 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth about $266,000. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 14,142 shares of the company's stock worth $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 3,757 shares during the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth about $6,369,000. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 65.6% in the 1st quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 12,784 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,066 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $115.43.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $114.72 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.42 and a fifty-two week high of $137.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $100.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.12. The stock has a market cap of $38.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, 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 value of $401,310.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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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