KBC Group NV Trims Stock Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

KBC Group NV decreased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,132,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188,623 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $161,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KMB. D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. Arjuna Capital increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 21,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 6,466 shares during the period. Mengis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth $356,000. Finally, Haverford Trust Co increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the third quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 24,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,519,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB opened at $132.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.23. The stock has a market cap of $44.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

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.