Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,649 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $17,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in 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 valued at $762,279,000 after acquiring an additional 944,920 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth $437,420,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,269,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,559,000 after buying an additional 342,790 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 9.8% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,487,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,451,000 after acquiring an additional 132,576 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus raised Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.67.

Insider Activity

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 value of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction 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. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.91. 2,160,596 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,137,545. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $141.51 and a 200 day moving average of $134.51.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

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.