Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Receives $145.67 Average PT from Brokerages

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $145.67.

Several research firms have weighed in on KMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $479,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,166,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,758,000 after acquiring an additional 53,578 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 15,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 46,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,689,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $143.52 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $149.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $142.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.33.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.