Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 40.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,019 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,482 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,409,000 after acquiring an additional 21,339 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $14,751,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 166,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,956,000 after acquiring an additional 6,392 shares during the period. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,583,000 after buying an additional 11,882 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 107.8% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 12,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 6,293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $134.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $117.67 and a one year high of $149.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.13. The stock has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on 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. lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.93.

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.