Leonteq Securities AG Makes New $1.42 Million Investment in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 14,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 363,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,923,000 after purchasing an additional 24,698 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 284,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,698,000 after purchasing an additional 87,455 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 11.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 20.5% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of KMB opened at $98.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.42 and a 12-month high of $144.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 80.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 in the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.