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

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $143.64.

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $130.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $130.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.26, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark has a one year low of $117.67 and a one year high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $756,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.