Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 818,018 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,937 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Kimberly-Clark worth $116,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth about $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $132.19 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $117.67 and a 52 week high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $44.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $140.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.23.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average 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.