USS Investment Management Ltd Decreases Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,019 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,206 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $12,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KMB. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,681,671 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,267,000 after purchasing an additional 273,813 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,303 shares of the company's stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,464 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,727 shares of the company's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company's stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded up $1.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $141.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,582,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,181,611. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.35. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.20 and a 200 day moving average of $134.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

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

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KMB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $145.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 3,997 shares in the company, valued at $518,410.90. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,372 shares of company stock valued at $1,858,684. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

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.