BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Decreases Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp cut its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,338 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $7,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $139.35 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.30. The company has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 63.29%.

Kimberly-Clark 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.