King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 21,670 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 780,455 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,670 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $97,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KMB. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $162.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Evercore restated an “in-line” rating and set a $120.00 price objective (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $109.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.26. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a twelve month low of $96.26 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $101.83 and its 200 day moving average is $113.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.