Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Buys 5,355 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,716 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,355 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth about $556,114,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 350.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,583,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,501 shares during 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. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were 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 hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $101.71 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.63. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a one year low of $96.26 and a one year high of $147.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during 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 company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 84.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of several research reports. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, December 1st. Barclays set a $102.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.00.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.