Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on KMB. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $130.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.36. The company has a market cap of $43.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark has a 52 week low of $117.67 and a 52 week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. Research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the third 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. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.