Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $147.57.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $125.35 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.31. Kimberly-Clark has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 63.29%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.