Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.63 Million in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 16,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,630,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 363,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,923,000 after acquiring an additional 24,698 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 284,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,698,000 after purchasing an additional 87,455 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.5% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $111.44 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.94. The company has a market cap of $36.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.42 and a twelve month high of $137.46.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on KMB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $115.43.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.