52,615 Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC cut its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 10.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 450,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,615 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $43,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,547,915,000. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $632,373,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $239,612,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $223,668,000. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $188,902,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Kimberly-Clark

Here are the key news stories impacting Kimberly-Clark this week:

• Positive Sentiment: China antitrust approval removes a major regulatory hurdle for Kimberly-Clark’s proposed Kenvue acquisition, improving the deal’s closing prospects and potentially expanding the company’s consumer-health portfolio. Kimberly-Clark’s $40B purchase of Kenvue wins China antitrust approval
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America maintained a Buy rating and a $120 price target, citing strong execution and earnings momentum. That view provides a bullish counterpoint to concerns surrounding the acquisition and financing. Kimberly-Clark maintained at Buy with $120 price target
• Positive Sentiment: Kimberly-Clark de México reported margin gains and a strong cash position in the third quarter, suggesting improving operating performance in an important regional business. Kimberly-Clark de México third-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary comparing Kimberly-Clark with Clorox highlights that both companies offer yields above 4.5% but are undergoing overhauls, making execution and balance-sheet strength more important than headline yield alone. Kimberly-Clark vs. Clorox dividend comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Kimberly-Clark priced $4.9 billion of senior unsecured notes to help fund the Kenvue transaction. The financing increases leverage and interest obligations, intensifying investor concerns about balance-sheet risk and future dividend flexibility. Kimberly-Clark prices $4.9 billion notes for Kenvue deal
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analysis questions whether Kimberly-Clark’s long dividend record is adequately supported by free cash flow, particularly as payout ratios leave little cushion and the company takes on acquisition debt. Jim Cramer calls Kimberly-Clark a hated Dividend King

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KMB opened at $106.64 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.87. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.42 and a fifty-two week high of $123.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.21). Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 143.92% and a net margin of 11.79%. The company had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KMB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $104.00 to $97.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $121.00 to $118.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $116.50.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) is a global consumer products company that develops and markets personal care, tissue and professional hygiene products. Its portfolio includes products for babies and children, feminine care, adult care, family care and workplace hygiene.

The company’s well-known brands include Huggies diapers and wipes, Kleenex facial tissue, Cottonelle bathroom tissue, Scott toilet paper and paper towels, Kotex feminine care products, and Depend, Poise and GoodNites products.