Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. reduced its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,419 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,189,000 after buying an additional 1,046,155 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after acquiring an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,530,000 after acquiring an additional 524,632 shares during the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 552.4% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 456,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,163,000 after purchasing an additional 386,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,740,000 after purchasing an additional 368,505 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $135.98. 2,445,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,210,607. The company has a market capitalization of $45.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.38. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $145.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $127.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total transaction of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at $1,101,891.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,562 shares of company stock valued at $2,808,345 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI raised Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.85.

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.