Swedbank AB Purchases 5,034 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Swedbank AB increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,142 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,034 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.05% of Kimberly-Clark worth $24,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after acquiring an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,559,000 after purchasing an additional 342,790 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 22.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,934,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,383,000 after purchasing an additional 354,501 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,093,000 after acquiring an additional 48,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 48.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,545,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,539,000 after acquiring an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $145.94 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.63 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

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.