Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 12.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,133 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,253 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $101.57 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.41. The stock has a market cap of $33.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.25. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $99.22 and a fifty-two week high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released 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. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 183.11%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 85.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on KMB. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.62.

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.