Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Sells 5,531 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 12.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,531 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $5,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $134.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $139.49 and a 200 day moving average of $139.13. The company has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.