American Century Companies Inc. Has $315.13 Million Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 8.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,534,430 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 206,108 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.76% of Kimberly-Clark worth $315,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,435,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,212,942,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200,011 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth $556,114,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 350.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,583,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,501 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 32,568.4% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 978,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,138,000 after purchasing an additional 975,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 88.9% during the third quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,048,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,274,000 after purchasing an additional 963,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KMB. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $102.00 price objective on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NASDAQ KMB opened at $111.44 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12-month low of $96.26 and a 12-month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 170.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.03%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.