What happened
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated August 19, 2025, Slocum, Gordon & Co LLP reported selling all 20,789 shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB -0.56%) during the second quarter.
The estimated transaction value, based on the quarterly average price for Q2 2025, was approximately $2.96 million. The move reduced the fund’s position in Kimberly-Clark to zero as of June 30, 2025.
What else to know
Top holdings after the filing:
- Procter & Gamble: $7.91 million (6.37% of AUM)
- NextEra Energy: $7.51 million (6.05% of AUM)
- Exxon Mobil: $7.46 million (6.01% of AUM)
- Merck: $7.44 million (5.99% of AUM)
- American Electric Power: $6.99 million (5.63% of AUM)
Kimberly-Clark shares were priced at $131.33 as of August 18, 2025, with a 1-year price drop of 8.46%. The shares underperformed the S&P 500 by 23.5 percentage points over this period.
Dividend yield: 3.74%. Forward P/E: 17.34. EV/EBITDA (TTM): 13.0 (as of 2025-06-30). Percentage off 52-week high: 11.9% as of 2025-08-18.
Company Overview
| Metric | $43.6 billion |
|---|---|
| Revenue (TTM) | $19.72 billion |
| Net Income (TTM) | $2.43 billion |
| Dividend Yield | 3.74% |
Company Snapshot
- Manufactures and markets personal care products (diapers, wipes, feminine and incontinence care), consumer tissue (facial and bathroom tissues, paper towels), and professional hygiene solutions under brands such as Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, and Kotex.
- Generates revenue primarily through direct sales to supermarkets, mass merchandisers, drugstores, warehouse clubs, and e-commerce platforms, as well as via distributors for both household and away-from-home use.
- Serves retail consumers globally and commercial clients in sectors including manufacturing, lodging, office buildings, and food service.
Kimberly-Clark manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of trusted brands in personal care and tissue products. Its established presence in both retail and professional channels underpins its competitive advantage in the household and personal products industry.
Foolish take
Kimberly-Clark was one of the darlings of the pandemic, when consumers literally couldn’t buy enough toilet paper, tissues, and other paper goods. However, the initial pandemic surge did die out, causing the stock price to stagnate over time. In the last five years, the stock is down more than 15%. Year to date it’s up again by 1.69%, but that’s hardly worth writing home about.
Although Kimberly-Clark owns a number of brands that produce products that people need every day, including diapers and feminine hygiene products, the stock has failed to perform to expectations, including earnings misses in two of the last four quarters that may be attributed to an increasingly cost-sensitive consumer who may be choosing generic versions of this company’s products instead.
Declining birth rates are also not helping in core areas like diapers, though an aging population could increase demand for adult diapers over time. The company is currently undergoing restructuring that may help to reposition it for the future, including divesting smaller and less profitable business lines and focused harder on geographic growth opportunities and manufacturing optimization.
Challenges remain as global tariff negotiations continue to drag on and uncertainty abounds. Higher tariffs may mean Kimberly-Clark has to raise prices and this may cause further damage with that already stretched consumer who may be choosing cheaper options.
Glossary
Fully exited: When an investor sells all shares of a particular holding, reducing their position to zero.
Position: The amount of a particular security or asset held by an investor or fund.
Transaction value: The total dollar amount received or paid in a single buy or sell operation.
Stake: The ownership interest or share an investor holds in a company or fund.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of investments managed by a fund or investment firm.
13F: A quarterly report filed by institutional investment managers disclosing their equity holdings.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends per share divided by the share price, shown as a percentage.
Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings ratio using forecasted earnings for the next year.
EV/EBITDA: Enterprise value divided by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization; measures company valuation.
TTM: The 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
52-week high: The highest price at which a stock traded during the past year.
Liquidation: The process of selling off an asset or position, often to exit an investment completely.
