Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 41,700 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 947,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,700 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.28% of Kimberly-Clark worth $130,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 333.3% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’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 $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of KMB opened at $140.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $142.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. The company has a market capitalization of $47.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $149.30.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

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.