Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 13,855 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 147,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,855 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $14,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,934,000 after buying an additional 2,628,206 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,615,382,000 after buying an additional 997,397 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 331.6% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,107,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,724,000 after purchasing an additional 851,024 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,406,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $299,268,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 758,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,490,000 after purchasing an additional 633,061 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $114.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $97.55 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $97.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.55. 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 52-week low of $92.42 and a 52-week high of $144.30. The company has a market cap of $32.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.31, a PEG ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

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

About Kimberly-Clark

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.