Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 9,282 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 32.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,899 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,282 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $4,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth $12,854,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 186.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 43,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,408,000 after purchasing an additional 28,335 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 591,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,234,000 after purchasing an additional 19,298 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5,751.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 94,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,146,000 after buying an additional 92,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 38,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,932,000 after buying an additional 19,130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI reissued an “in-line” rating and set a $120.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $122.31.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $97.92 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 52 week low of $96.26 and a 52 week high of $150.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.52. 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 firm has a market cap of $32.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.26.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 85.28%.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.