Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 206,671 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.30% of Kimberly-Clark worth $1,092,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.1 %

KMB opened at $133.11 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $137.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The company has a market cap of $44.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $117.67 and a 52 week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus 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.