PGGM Investments Sells 48,168 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

PGGM Investments trimmed its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 77.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,168 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $1,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KMB. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of KMB traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.10. 2,401,756 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,480,943. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $138.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.68. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $145.62. The stock has a market cap of $47.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.21 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 Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark 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 transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Doug Cunningham sold 3,833 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.82, for a total transaction of $524,431.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,312 shares of company stock valued at $6,106,519 over the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on KMB. 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.