Simplify Asset Management Inc. Takes $2.70 Million Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 18,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,696,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $2.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $133.80. 485,972 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,097,990. The company has a market cap of $44.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.13. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $117.67 and a 52 week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.