Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $141.64.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 454 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,324.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 60.6% during the first quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 983 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 7.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.6% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 698,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,087,000 after buying an additional 37,108 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 422.1% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 77,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,068,000 after buying an additional 62,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $139.37 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $142.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $135.35 and a 200-day moving average of $127.29. The company has a market capitalization of $46.93 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.