Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on KMB. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $129.67. 1,881,103 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,081,561. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $117.67 and a 12 month high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $131.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.41.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.