Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB Stake Lifted by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 58.8%, owning a total of 227,196 shares valued at approximately $32.3 million after purchasing an additional 84,099 shares.
• Kimberly-Clark reported an EPS of $1.92 for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.67, despite a 1.6% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly $1.26 dividend, which will yield 3.9% annually, with a payout ratio of 69.42%.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 58.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,196 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 84,099 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Kimberly-Clark worth $32,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 176.1% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KMB. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.70.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $128.76. The company had a trading volume of 504,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,296,756. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $150.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $130.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.67.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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