Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,946 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,557,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 63,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,037,000 after buying an additional 15,693 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 47,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,756,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 16,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,333,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares during the period. Cadence Bank raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 42,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,078,000 after buying an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 18.6% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,062 shares of the company's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.4 %

KMB traded down $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $139.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,452,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,036. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $138.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The company has a market capitalization of $46.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $117.67 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.