Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 551,158 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 1,427.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 589,771 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 551,158 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.18% of Kimberly-Clark worth $77,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $125.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52-week low of $117.67 and a 52-week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business'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 in the company, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $145.93.

Kimberly-Clark 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.