Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on KMB. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $139.17 on Tuesday. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $142.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05. The firm has a market cap of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.38.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,395 shares of company stock valued at $3,332,776. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 13,806 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 10,820 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $4,253,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $1,081,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $1,661,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.