Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Acquired by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 206,671 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,092,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KMB opened at $133.11 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.42. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $117.67 and a twelve month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

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.