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

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 39,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,616,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acropolis Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% in the third quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 11,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $231,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 140.6% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 433,409 shares of the company's stock worth $61,665,000 after purchasing an additional 253,283 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $324,000. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 15,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,244,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 2.0 %

KMB traded down $2.74 on Tuesday, reaching $136.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,187,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,108,801. The company has a market capitalization of $45.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 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. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $138.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.35.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on KMB. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.93.

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.