State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 7,884 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. $KMB

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. by 6.8%, selling 7,884 shares and holding a total of 107,656 shares worth approximately $15.31 million.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed ratings for Kimberly-Clark, with one sell rating, seven holds, and three buys, while the average price target is $142.70.
• Kimberly-Clark announced a quarterly dividend of $1.26 per share, reflecting a 3.8% yield, with a payout ratio of 69.42%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,656 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,884 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $15,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 126.8% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 50,599 shares of the company's stock worth $7,237,000 after acquiring an additional 28,293 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,842 shares of the company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 68.5% in the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 333,884 shares of the company's stock worth $47,485,000 after purchasing an additional 135,720 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,332,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,703,000 after purchasing an additional 47,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.3% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $133.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,678,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,328,461. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.11. The company has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.33. 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 (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%.The business had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is currently 69.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price 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 began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, July 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.