KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Trims Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS cut its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,968 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,800 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.07% of Kimberly-Clark worth $32,662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Pacific Financial bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 329.6% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 305 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.70, for a total transaction of $95,978.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $518,410.90. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.0%

KMB stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, hitting $127.75. 1,550,494 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,294,750. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $133.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $42.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is presently 68.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.50.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.