California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,536,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,300 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.46% of Kimberly-Clark worth $201,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 572,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,450,000 after buying an additional 17,919 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 140.6% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 433,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,665,000 after acquiring an additional 253,283 shares during the last quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth approximately $231,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth $5,616,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at $572,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $140.73 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $136.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1 year low of $123.84 and a 1 year high of $150.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KMB. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.85.

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.