Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Aberdeen Group plc raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 287,841 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,269 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.09% of Kimberly-Clark worth $29,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 177.6% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 69.7% in the third quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Investors Research Corp acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $102.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.85.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $96.13 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.79. The company has a market capitalization of $31.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.28. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 1 year low of $94.54 and a 1 year high of $147.12. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 84.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.