Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

KMB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $111.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $141.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB opened at $138.43 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $142.20. The firm has a market cap of $46.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.24, for a total transaction of $61,398.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total value of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776 over the last three months. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the first 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 raised its stake in 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 stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.