First Trust Advisors LP Has $68.95 Million Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 65.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 554,520 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,054,812 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $68,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 186.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,408,000 after buying an additional 28,335 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,439,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,448,000 after buying an additional 58,978 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 591,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,234,000 after buying an additional 19,298 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 38,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,932,000 after acquiring an additional 19,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5,751.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 94,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,146,000 after acquiring an additional 92,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 1.1%

KMB stock opened at $101.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.24. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $96.26 and a 1 year high of $147.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.63. 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 (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The company had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.35%.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

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.