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

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 7.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,464 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,909 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during 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. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $134.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $139.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.13.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.