J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 6,073 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 60.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,073 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ally Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,009,000. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 54,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,462,000 after purchasing an additional 10,811 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,774,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,258,000 after purchasing an additional 334,598 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas now owns 61,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,234,000 after purchasing an additional 14,115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628,206 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 in the last ninety days. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KMB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.14.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $106.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $102.80 and its 200-day moving average is $101.63. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.42 and a fifty-two week high of $137.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.