Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Increases Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management increased its Kimberly-Clark stake by 227.9% in the fourth quarter, ending with 586,633 shares worth about $59.2 million. It was one of several institutional investors that boosted holdings, and institutions now own 76.29% of the stock.
• Kimberly-Clark beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $1.97 per share on revenue of $4.16 billion versus analyst estimates of $1.93 and $4.09 billion, respectively. Revenue rose 2.7% year over year.
• Wall Street remains cautious on KMB, with an average analyst rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.93. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares recently, including Katy Chen and Andrew Scribner, though the sales were tied in part to tax withholding and equity-related obligations.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB - Free Report) by 227.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 586,633 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 407,704 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.18% of Kimberly-Clark worth $59,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 18,293 shares of the company's stock worth $1,846,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 7,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $375,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 11,348 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 2,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballast Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 11,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,169,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KMB. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Four equities research 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 target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB opened at $98.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.29. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1-year low of $92.42 and a 1-year high of $144.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $103.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The company's 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. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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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