Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 21.0% in the first quarter, selling 6,072 shares, leaving them with a total of 22,871 shares worth approximately $3.25 million.
• In contrast, other large investors like GAMMA Investing LLC and Pacer Advisors Inc. increased their positions significantly, with GAMMA's stake rising by 10,975.8%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Kimberly-Clark, with price targets ranging from $125.00 to $144.00, reflecting mixed outlooks on the company's performance.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,871 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,072 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Pacific Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 176.1% in the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 196 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on KMB shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $125.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $139.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.70.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $1.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $129.17. 1,993,331 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,307,606. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $130.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.98.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is presently 69.42%.

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.