BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 326,061 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 90.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 684,623 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 326,061 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.21% of Kimberly-Clark worth $97,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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 stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $149.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $139.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,466,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,100. 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 P/E ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. The company's 50-day moving average price is $138.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.21. 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 released 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. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.