Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,536,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,300 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $201,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on KMB shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.85.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $140.73 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.92. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 66.75%.

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.