Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,860 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,350 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $13,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 42.9% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 14,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 4,243 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at about $1,557,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 32.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 63,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,037,000 after purchasing an additional 15,693 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 9.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 47,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 16,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after buying an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $139.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $138.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.21. The stock has a market cap of $46.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a PEG 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 one year low of $117.67 and a one year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.