Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 277,618 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,101 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.08% of Kimberly-Clark worth $39,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,142,545 shares of the company's stock worth $4,605,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603,787 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $582,592,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 10,975.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,902,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $270,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,877 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company's stock worth $280,786,000 after buying an additional 1,328,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trinity Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth approximately $181,762,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KMB. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,794 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.74, for a total transaction of $234,547.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $405,032.52. This trade represents a 36.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $127.75. 1,550,494 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,294,750. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $133.38 and a 200-day moving average of $134.51. The firm has a market cap of $42.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is currently 68.66%.

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.