Blueshift Asset Management LLC Invests $1.56 Million in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 10,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,557,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the third quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $139.73 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $138.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. 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 52-week low of $117.67 and a 52-week high of $149.30.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.