Fmr LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 572,463 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 17,919 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 0.17% of Kimberly-Clark worth $81,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,409,000 after purchasing an additional 21,339 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 166,108 shares of the company's stock worth $22,956,000 after acquiring an additional 6,392 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,583,000 after acquiring an additional 11,882 shares in the last quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,608,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth $2,408,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $149.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $3.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $134.69. 2,207,240 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,109,441. The company's 50 day moving average price is $138.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.33. The firm has a market cap of $44.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $117.67 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. 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 posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.