Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 28.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,638 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,877 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on KMB shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.73.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB traded down $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,744,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,202,461. The business's fifty day moving average price is $135.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.86. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $43.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total value of $95,978.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at $518,410.90. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.