Nuance Investments LLC Sells 278,820 Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)

Nuance Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 30.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 626,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 278,820 shares during the period. Kimberly-Clark comprises approximately 3.0% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $89,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KMB. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. 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 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.93.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

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

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

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.