Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $2.64 Million Stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 19.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,893,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,279,000 after purchasing an additional 944,920 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $437,420,000. Capital World Investors boosted 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 acquiring an additional 342,790 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted 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 acquiring an additional 48,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 9.8% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,487,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,451,000 after acquiring an additional 132,576 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $143.61 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $145.68. The stock has a market cap of $48.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.70.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

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 $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on KMB shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.67.

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.