JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target to $123.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $115.00 to $123.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

KMB has been the subject of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Barclays increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of KMB opened at $135.24 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.87. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $147.09.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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 KMB. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.