Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Bought by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,201 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,571 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $19,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:KMB traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $134.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,207,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,438. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The company has a market cap of $44.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.20 and a 200 day moving average of $139.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. Kimberly-Clark's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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 reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, 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. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $149.93.

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.