Xponance Inc. Cuts Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 17.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 60,204 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,829 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,435,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,212,942,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200,011 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,482,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,344,000 after purchasing an additional 218,644 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,254,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,423,000 after purchasing an additional 363,865 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,097,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,128,000 after purchasing an additional 270,134 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at approximately $556,114,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $102.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $111.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12 month low of $96.26 and a 12 month high of $150.45.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.03%.

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.