Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Makes New Investment in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 42,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,255,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 186.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,408,000 after purchasing an additional 28,335 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,439,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,448,000 after buying an additional 58,978 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 591,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,234,000 after buying an additional 19,298 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 100.0% in the third quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 38,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,932,000 after buying an additional 19,130 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5,751.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 94,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,146,000 after acquiring an additional 92,601 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 price objective on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays set a $102.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 1.1%

KMB opened at $101.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $103.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.63. The company has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.24. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $96.26 and a 52 week high of $147.31.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 84.35%.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.