79,470 Shares in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Acquired by NatWest Group plc

NatWest Group plc acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 79,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,307,000. Kimberly-Clark makes up about 3.3% of NatWest Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after buying an additional 944,920 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,559,000 after purchasing an additional 342,790 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 22.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,934,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,383,000 after purchasing an additional 354,501 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,093,000 after purchasing an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 48.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,545,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,539,000 after purchasing an additional 503,839 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KMB. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $146.11 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.63 and a twelve month high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $49.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.05 and a 200 day moving average of $138.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

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.