Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Acquires 7,738 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 59.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,856 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,738 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 54.8% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,317,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,109,000 after acquiring an additional 466,400 shares in the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 112.4% during the 1st quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 19,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 10,270 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 17.4% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 3,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 38.0% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $109.31 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $105.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52-week low of $92.42 and a 52-week high of $137.46. The company has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.