Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 551,158 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1,427.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 589,771 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 551,158 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.18% of Kimberly-Clark worth $77,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,304,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,768,367,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083,824 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,060,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,431,443,000 after buying an additional 358,926 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,675,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,092,388,000 after buying an additional 206,671 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,740,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,625,000 after buying an additional 464,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,712,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,900,000 after acquiring an additional 20,953 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of KMB opened at $125.60 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.07.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.