Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 8.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,972 shares of the company’s stock after selling 888 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 347,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,409,000 after acquiring an additional 21,339 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter valued at $14,751,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 166,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,956,000 after buying an additional 6,392 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 84.6% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 25,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,583,000 after buying an additional 11,882 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 107.8% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 12,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,569,000 after buying an additional 6,293 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $134.08 on Friday. The stock 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 fifty-two week low of $117.67 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $139.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.13.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is 63.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus raised Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.93.

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.