Erste Asset Management GmbH Invests $5.62 Million in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 39,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,616,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 105.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 6,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 24.5% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 9,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,252,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $139.56 on Tuesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $117.67 and a one year high of $149.30. The company has a market cap of $46.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $138.46 and a 200-day moving average of $139.33.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $149.93.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.