Legal & General Group Plc Acquires New Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,037,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,668,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Freedom Capital upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.93.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB opened at $110.34 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.42 and a fifty-two week high of $131.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $109.37 and a 200 day moving average of $103.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.22 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 143.92% and a net margin of 11.79%.The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.42 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 4th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 87.07%.

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.