Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stake Boosted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 40.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,019 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,482 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,409,000 after buying an additional 21,339 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth approximately $14,751,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 166,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,956,000 after purchasing an additional 6,392 shares during the period. PGGM Investments lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,583,000 after purchasing an additional 11,882 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 107.8% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 12,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 6,293 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE KMB opened at $134.08 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The company has a market capitalization of $44.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $139.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.13.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

Kimberly-Clark 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.