Nuance Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Key Points

• Nuance Investments LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 78.3%, now holding only 110,595 shares, which represents about 1.0% of its total portfolio.
• In the first quarter, other institutional investors like Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Ballast Inc. increased their stakes in the company, highlighting continued interest despite Nuance's divestment.
• Analysts generally hold a "Hold" rating on Kimberly-Clark, with a consensus price target of $142.70, while the company's stock recently opened at $134.15.

Nuance Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 78.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 110,595 shares of the company's stock after selling 398,607 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark accounts for about 1.0% of Nuance Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $15,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. First Pacific Financial purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE KMB traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $134.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,849,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,337,992. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 1-year low of $124.10 and a 1-year high of $150.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company's 50-day moving average is $130.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.01.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.85 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Kimberly-Clark's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.70.

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.