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

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $146.00.

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped 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 decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB opened at $142.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $116.63 and a 52-week high of $149.30. The firm has a market cap of $47.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.24 and its 200-day moving average is $137.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced 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 net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.71%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 26,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 38,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,696,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $230,000. Finally, Ossiam raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 28,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,432,000 after buying an additional 12,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.