Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Acquired by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 399,630 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,386 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Kimberly-Clark worth $49,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 186.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,408,000 after buying 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 worth $301,448,000 after acquiring an additional 58,978 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in 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 during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 100.0% during 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 raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5,751.6% in the second 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $162.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.00.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of KMB stock opened at $110.51 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $96.26 and a fifty-two week high of $150.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.03%.

Kimberly-Clark 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.