Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $145.67.

KMB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total value of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 10,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 5,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of KMB stock opened at $140.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. Kimberly-Clark has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

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.