Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Stock Position Lowered by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 508,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,843 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $65,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,279,000 after purchasing an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $437,420,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,559,000 after buying an additional 342,790 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,720,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,093,000 after buying an additional 48,103 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 9.8% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,487,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,451,000 after purchasing an additional 132,576 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,312 shares of company stock worth $6,106,519 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $135.58. The company had a trading volume of 95,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,177,086. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $145.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $138.03 and its 200-day moving average is $130.52. The company has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on KMB shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

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.