Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $115.4286.

Several equities analysts have commented on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Bank of America cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KMB. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 26,997.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,368,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,399,000 after buying an additional 7,341,215 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $521,184,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,934,000 after buying an additional 2,628,206 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,661,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,673,000 after buying an additional 1,503,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 459.9% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,695,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,591,000 after buying an additional 1,392,873 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.2%

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $109.37 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. The stock has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.28. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $92.42 and a 12 month high of $137.46.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.