UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Raises Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,022,131 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 309,873 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.91% of Kimberly-Clark worth $396,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.1% during the 4th 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $582,592,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 163.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,142,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328,341 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,653,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,868,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,141 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $127,436,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.08.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $141.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.85. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $124.10 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its 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. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,872 shares of company stock worth $2,208,684 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.