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

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $144.85.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 5.1 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $137.76 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $123.84 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.95.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

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.