Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 14.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,316 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $2,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,898,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 8.4% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 102,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,546,000 after buying an additional 7,955 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 25.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the period. West Family Investments Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 30.8% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter valued at $2,840,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $135.63 on Wednesday. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a 12-month low of $117.67 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $45.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $139.06 and a 200 day moving average of $139.15.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The company had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on KMB. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.93.

Kimberly-Clark 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.