Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,373 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 18.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 454,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,738,000 after acquiring an additional 69,794 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 10,820 shares in the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $1,081,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $1,094,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $11,994,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $140.10 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $47.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company 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.