Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 12,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,588,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,435,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,212,942,000 after buying an additional 5,200,011 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $556,114,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 350.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,583,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,501 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 32,568.4% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 978,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,138,000 after purchasing an additional 975,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 2,048,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,274,000 after purchasing an additional 963,978 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $102.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.41. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52-week low of $96.26 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The firm has a market cap of $33.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.51.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 183.11% and a net margin of 10.89%.The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and set a $120.00 price target (down from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $118.33.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.