Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stake Raised by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 22.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,934,655 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 354,501 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.57% of Kimberly-Clark worth $267,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after purchasing an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $437,420,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,559,000 after acquiring an additional 342,790 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,093,000 after acquiring an additional 48,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 9.8% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,487,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,451,000 after acquiring an additional 132,576 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target for the company. Bank of America raised Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB stock opened at $141.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.83. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $47.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.