Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 87.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,559 shares of the company’s stock after selling 437,910 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,442,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,189,000 after buying an additional 1,046,155 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after purchasing an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,197,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,530,000 after buying an additional 524,632 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 552.4% in the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 456,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,163,000 after buying an additional 386,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,740,000 after buying an additional 368,505 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 520 shares in the company, valued at $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $134.25 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $145.28. The company has a market capitalization of $45.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $129.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on KMB shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark 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.